


Kid In Love

by Kunoichirin



Category: Incredibles (Pixar Movies), The Power Pack (Marvel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And a little bit of angst, I hope, It's In Notes, M/M, Original Characters Purely For Plot, There's An Explanation, Title from a Shawn Mendes song, What Have I Done, basically just fluff, for fun, it'll be worth it, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:28:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26870656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kunoichirin/pseuds/Kunoichirin
Summary: The Powers have gone to New Urbem for vacation, visiting their mom's cousins. Jack meets Dash, and begins to question himself. He believes the only way to really meet the boy, is to do some hero work as well.
Relationships: Dash Parr/Jack Power, Jack Power & Alex Power & Julie Power & Katie Power
Comments: 10
Kudos: 6





	Kid In Love

**Author's Note:**

> The Incredibles is my favorite family movie of all time (1 and 2). I've watched it, like, over and over lately. I can quote a lot of it.
> 
> And I've been rereading the Power Pack comics, and realizing that Dash and Jack are really similar, and sort of got obsessed with the scenario of them meeting, and this kinda happened. So. Yeah.
> 
> I pray I'm not the only one, but odds are, I am. Which makes me sad. So if you're reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving it a chance.
> 
> Also, there's a reoccurring theme about how Jack is convinced that he never does the right thing, which I included because that's how I've been feeling a lot lately, and I thought it'd be relatable.
> 
> Seriously, the Power Pack comics are so underrated, I really wish they were more popular. I mean, they're really good! Read them! Especially if you want this to make sense. Although, if you're reading this, it's probably because you've already read them. I guess.
> 
> One last thing: The ages of the characters (which I changed around a lot). Alex is fourteen, Julie is twelve, Jack is ten, and Katie is seven. Dash is twelve, Violet is sixteen, and Jack-Jack is two.

"How can you call it vacation if we're just going to another city?" Jack pointed out in the car. "And why specifically there?"

"My cousins live there." His mom replied, glancing back at them. "You haven't met them yet. And Alex was only two when he met them, so he wouldn't remember."

"How come we've never heard of it before?" Julie asked, looking over at their mother. "If it's a big city and all."

"My cousins invited us. Apparently, the place has started getting more famous, and they want us to see why." Their mother explained. "I'm close with them, since my mother and her sister were very close."

"Greeeeat." Jack mumbled. "Just how I want to spend my summer."

"Oh calm down, Jack." Alex narrowed his eyes. "We haven't met them yet. For all you know, they could be really cool people. Besides, you should at least give it a shot before deciding it's terrible."

"I know I'm excited!" Katie squealed, looking out the window excitedly. "Meeting new people is fun! And not every city is the same, Jack. Quit being a stick in the mud."

"Hey, you don't get to lecture me. I'm still older than you." Jack reminded her. Katie stuck her tongue out at him before returning her attention to the window. Julie sighed.

"And can we try to make a good impression and not fight with each other while we're there?" She frowned. "I don't want them thinking we're a bunch of troublemakers. From what I've heard about it, there's already a high crime rate, so they probably see enough trouble."

"A high crime rate?" Jack suddenly perked up. _Huh. Maybe we'll have something to do after all!_

"Don't get any ideas, Jack." Alex muttered, giving him a warning look. Jack frowned.

" _Now_ who's being a stick in the mud." Jack mumbled. Alex rolled his eyes, leaning back against his seat. To put it simply, Jack wasn't excited in the slightest. Katie said not every city was the same, but that's the opposite of true.

They all look the same; tall buildings, streets flooded with people, traffic, and air pollution. Simple as that. There was probably nothing exciting whatsoever about this no name city, and his entire summer would be wasted.

And then when he went to back to school and there were those stupid assignments that asked how your summer was, he could easily say boring and uneventful. Summer was supposed to be fun and relaxing. A time to completely forget about homework and school, and just enjoy freedom. But instead, they'd be cooped up in an apartment in a loud city, and doing nothing. Fantastic.

"Look, look, we're almost there!" Katie grinned from ear to ear, pointing out the window. Jack glanced up, not really impressed. Sure, the bright sunny day made it look really impressive, but that would only be until they entered the city.

Jack slumped, glaring at his lap. If they were going somewhere, couldn't they go somewhere fun? Alex made it clear there would be no heroics happening, so they'd be bored out of their minds. At least, Jack would be.

Taking an exit leading off the highway and towards the city, their father finally spoke. "Lighten up, Jack. We'll only be staying a few weeks. It's not like we'll be staying the whole summer."

"Thank god." Jack grumbled.

"I promise it'll be worth it, okay honey?" Their mother looked back at him. Jack sighed, not replying. A few more miles, and they'd reach the city, where they'd head to the Residential District.

About half an hour later, they pulled into a driveway, the sun setting on the horizon. So Jack was wrong about them being stuck in an apartment, but oh well. It didn't make it any better.

They stood outside the door with their bags, their mother pressing the doorbell. A couple minutes later a woman opened the door, smiling. "Maggie!" She greeted, hugging their mother. "Good to see you! Come in, come in. You can put your stuff in the guest room." They followed her down through the living room and down the hall, into a back room. It had a king sized bed, a closet, and a dresser. "The couch is also available, and we have an air mattress."

They put all their bags down on the bed, and their mother hugged the woman. "Kids, this is Cecelia, my cousin." Alex was the first to introduce himself.

"Hello, I'm Alex. Nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand, and she shook it. "These are my siblings, Julie, Jack, and Katie."

"Well you're certainly well-mannered." Cecelia smiled. "You can call me Cece. It's nice to finally meet all of you. I've met you, Alex, but I doubt you remember. I'll introduce you to my husband and kids. Follow me." 

"You have a really nice house, Cece." Katie said as they entered the living room.

"Why thank you, Katie!" Cece pat her on the head, receiving a shy smile from Katie, before she walked to the stairs. "You can wait here." She turned to the stairs. "Honey! Kids! The guests are here!"

A couple minutes later, a man walked down the stairs, followed by two kids. The girl looked about Alex's age, and the boy was between Katie and Jack's ages. "Maggie, Jim, nice to see you again." He greeted.

"Same to you, Rich." Their father shook his hand, and Maggie hugged him.

The man then turned to the kids, extending a hand. Julie and Alex both shook his hand. "These are our kids, Victoria and Carter."

"You can call me Tori." Victoria introduced, shaking Alex's and Julie's hands as well. "I'm fourteen. And Carter here is nine."

"I'm Alex." Alex greeted. 

"My name is Julie." Julie said.

"I'm Katie!" Katie grinned. "It's really nice to meet you!" They then waited, glancing at Jack. No answer. "And the grumpy one's Jack."

"Hey!" Jack retorted.

"Funny that he's quiet." Julie shrugged. "He's usually the loudest out of all of us."

"I am not!" Jack protested. " _That_ title goes to Katie over here."

"Hey! I'm not loud!" Katie frowned at him. "I'm just really cheerful. Which you could learn a thing or two about."

"Quit lecturing me already! Alex does that enough." Jack glared at her.

"That's because-" Alex cut himself off, taking a deep breath. He looked back over to the other kids and smiled apologetically. "Sorry about him."

"Oh, sure, lay the blame completely on me." Jack grumbled. "I see how it is." Alex shot him a warning look. Jack rolled his eyes.

Their mother sighed. "Jack, don't be rude."

"Wha- I'm not even- hmph." He crossed his arms, glaring at the ground.

"It's quite alright." Cece assured them. "You all are probably tired from the long drive. It's about time for bed anyway." Jack scoffed. This was already off to a bad start. He was _not_ looking froward to the rest of the visit.

A few minutes later, their parents and Katie were in the guest room, Julie had the couch, and Alex and Jack were on the air mattress. After changing into their pajamas, they turned out the lights and went to bed.

Jack lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Alex and Julie had already fallen asleep, leaving him to the waking world alone. He tried, but just couldn't sleep. Covering his face with his pillow, he groaned.

 _This is literally the worst vacation ever._ He thought to himself, rolling onto his side. _Can't wait to go back home._

After a few more minutes of just laying in bed without feeling the least bit tired, he got fed up and carefully rolled off the mattress. He glanced at the door. Maybe he'd just get some fresh air.

Silently creeping towards the door, he flinched every time the floorboards creaked beneath his feet. Fumbling with the lock on the door, he quietly pulled it open, sliding through to the outside. Closing the door behind him, he sat on the porch, leaning against the side of the house, watching the streets.

He counted the cars that went by in his head, hoping it'd have the same effect as counting sheep was supposed to. There was a nice breeze, and the air was warm. At least he wouldn't catch a cold sitting out here.

Looking up at the sky, he was surprised he was able to see the stars. They glittered in the sky, including the unmistakable northern star. As he stared, a few constellations started forming. It really was a perfect night.

A night like this would be a perfect night for patrolling, but since he didn't know the city at all, he'd only get lost. And he didn't need his family panicking about him going missing. So he stayed on the porch, staring at the sky.

 _I hope something exciting happens while we're here._ He thought, not noticing his eyelids starting to close. _Maybe then it'll be worth it_.

~

Jack awoke that morning to the distant sound of his name being called. More like it was behind a door. Sitting up, he realized he'd fallen asleep on the porch. And it sounded like they were looking for him.

Stretching his arms and legs, he felt a bit of a cramp in his side from sleeping on the hardwood. The sun wasn't too high in the sky, so he could tell it was still early. And it sounded like only Julie and Alex's voices.

Opening the door, he casually walked in, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, what?" He half mumbled. Upon seeing him, Julie hugged him tightly, surprising him.

"Oh thank goodness." She sighed. "We were worried you'd disappeared! And what would mom and dad think when they woke up?"

"You can't just _do_ that, Jack." Alex glared at him, grabbing him by the ear and pulling him over to the air mattress. "Please, _please_ tell me you didn't go on patrol."

"No, I didn't go on patrol." Jack scoffed, rubbing his ear. "I was just on the porch, relax."

"Why the heck were you sleeping on the porch?!" Julie exclaimed. Alex shushed her quickly. Lowering her voice, she continued. "It's not safe."

"I can literally turn into a cloud, I'm fine." Jack rolled his eyes. "Nothing happened, so what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is the fact that something _could've_ happened!" Alex narrowed his eyes. "I know you don't want to be here, but bear with us, okay? We don't need to be worrying about your whereabouts. We're on vacation."

"Certainly doesn't _feel_ like a vacation." Jack muttered.

"We've been here for a single night, Jack." Julie sighed. "Of course it doesn't feel like vacation. Actually, since you slept outside, the first thing we should do is check your temperature to make sure you're not sick or anything."

"I was actually a really nice night." Jack shrugged. "Warm with a cool breeze, and clear sky."

"Well, at least you enjoyed _something_." Julie said from the bathroom, where she was digging for a thermometer in the closet. "Aha!" She re-entered the living room, pressing the button of the thermometer. "Open." Jack obeyed, rolling his eyes again. After a couple seconds, it beeped. "99.1."

"What?" Jack cocked an eyebrow. "I thought it was supposed to be lower in the morning."

"It _is_ lower, Jack." Julie frowned. "Seriously? Now you're sick, so now you're going to be even _more_ miserable, and we have to deal with it."

"Relax, it's only a small fever. It's not like I'm actually sick or anything." Jack pointed out. "I feel perfectly fine. Actually, a little bit cold."

"You may not be sick, but you still have a fever." Alex sighed. "You should lay down for a bit until the others wake up. You can at least do that for us." Jack mumbled a retort before laying on the air mattress, shortly joined by Alex, and Julie went back on the couch.

They lay there in silence for a while. Checking the clock on the wall, it was around seven in the morning. Their parents would probably be up soon anyway. Jack didn't like staying still, he would much rather be moving around.

He glanced over at Alex, who was staring at him intently. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm making sure you don't leave." Alex replied. "Honestly, why did you think it was okay to sleep on the porch in a city with a high crime rate? For all you know, someone could've kidnapped you or killed you or something."

"By god, Alex, re- _lax_." Jack flopped his arm over his face. "You make it sound like a big deal, but nothing happened. And everything's fine. I can take care of myself, y'know."

"Jack, you're literally ten. You're not even in your teens. You don't get to say you can 'take care of yourself'." Alex frowned at him.

"I have my powers, and skill. We're superheroes, Alex. If I couldn't take care of myself, how come you're okay with me and Katie fighting bad guys?" Jack pointed out, furrowing his brows.

"You're fine because me and Julie are with you two. And usually, we're with other superheroes, so we're fine. But you're not fighting anything alone, and you're not going to put yourself in situations where you're alone." Alex stated firmly. "Get off your high horse and open your eyes to reality."

" _I_ need to get off _my_ high horse?" Jack sat up, glaring at him. "You're constantly telling me what to do and how to do it, underestimating my abilities simply because I'm 'a little kid'. I've fought just as hard as you, and I've seen things that other ten-year olds haven't. I've been through things, like aliens, and watching someone die, and real combat and destruction. I'm not a helpless little kid anymore, Alex! So quit treating me like one!"

"Don't raise your voice at me, Jack." Alex sat up, putting on his serious face. "You'll listen to what I'm saying, because I'm your older sibling, and your safety is my responsibility most of the time, so I can't have you running off and doing whatever you like. That's not how it works."

"And why not, huh?" Jack countered. "Why should I listen to you just because you're older? If an adult came up to me and asked me to follow them, should I? If an older kid told me to do something I wouldn't normally do, should I? Are you saying that because they're older, I should shut up and listen like a brainless robot?"

"I will not be made the enemy here! You _know_ that's not what I mean!" Alex pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I'm not saying listen to strangers, I'm saying listen to me, your brother, who's known you your entire life, and knows you better than anyone else-"

"But you don't!" Jack cut him off. "You _don't_ know me, or you'd have faith in me and my abilities! I told you I'm fine, so why can't you just believe me?"

"I'm not saying you're not fine, but you keep arguing with me, and I'm trying to get a point across." Alex sighed. "Katie would listen."

"Katie is a baby! She thinks that the world is some amazing place, and everyone is nice, and she doesn't have to think for herself." Jack argued. "But I've grown out of that. I'm old enough to decide for myself, and know who I am."

"You're not old enough to decide who or what you are. You've been in this world for only ten years, and have a whole life ahead of you to decide who you are." Alex sighed. "You're just too immature to realize that right now."

"Can you both just stop it?!" Julie interrupted. "Quit shouting at each other; it is seven thirty in the morning, and there are other people in this house who are still asleep. Jack, Alex is right about you having your entire life ahead of you. But Alex, you should stop being extremely overprotective of Jack, because while he is still your little brother, he's got a more mature mind than most people his age. At least in some ways."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Jack demanded, turning his glare to her.

"It means that you need to accept that you're still young and immature in many ways." Julie replied. "But you've made good points about Alex not having the most faith in your abilities. As your older sibling, he should support you. Both of you are right and wrong in many ways, but it's too early to argue, so please just go to sleep or relax, or something, because I would like a quiet and simple morning, thank you very much."

With that, she turned her back to them, snuggling back into the couch. Alex sighed, laying back down. Jack groaned, flopping face first into is pillow. Sometimes Julie seemed like the eldest sibling. Or their mom.

Maybe there'd be some sort of opportunity to show them he could take care of himself. He doubted it; Alex would only get mad at him for engaging in heroics here, because it would mean he disobeyed him like the control freak he was.

Well, that might've been a bit of an exaggeration, but he really seemed like one at times. He wasn't _that_ much older than Jack. He acted like he'd experienced so much more than Jack, but he really hadn't. And it just wasn't fair.

"Is everything okay out here?" The three of them looked up from where they lay, to see their mother and father coming out of the back room. While their father went straight to the bathroom, their mother sat on the couch near Julie's feet. "We thought we heard arguing."

"Everything's fine, you must've still been half asleep or something." Jack grumbled into his pillow. Alex sighed, and Jack suddenly got a bad feeling.

"Jack sl-" Jack quickly sat up, covering Alex's mouth.

"Everything's _fine_." He looked up as his mother with a nervous grin. "I just had a little trouble sleeping, is all. But it's not a big deal, really."

"He slept on the porch." Jack glared at Julie, who hardly even glanced at him. Alex pried Jack's hands off him.

"Why on earth did you sleep on the porch?" His mother crossed her arms, leaning against the back of the couch. "And in a big city with a high crime rate? Something could've happened to you!"

"I already got a lecture from Alex." Jack slumped. "Can't you just leave it? I'm perfectly fine." His mother frowned at him.

She took a deep breath. "Is there any particular reason you went out there?"

"I just needed some fresh air, that's all. And I happened to fall asleep out there." Jack rolled his eyes. "Can we please just drop it? I won't do it again, okay?"

" _There's_ the words I was looking for." Alex muttered. Jack frowned at him.

"Don't you two start arguing again." Julie said in a warning tone. "It's still too early for it." He paused. "Oh, right. Jack also has a fever now." Jack's jaw dropped at her, shocked that she told her.

His mother sighed. "Of course he does." She picked up the thermometer from the side table, and pressed the button. "Let's see how bad it is."

"It's not bad, mom, I'm fine. Really." Jack protested.

"Just open." Jack obeyed, waiting a couple minutes before it beeped again. "Oh dear. 99.6. Not as bad as I thought, but..." She looked up at Jack. "It's only the first day, Jack. Can't you please just behave while we're here?"

"I'm trying, mom." Jack groaned. "But everything I do is apparently not the right thing. I'm sorry I can't be like Mr. Perfect over here." He jerked his head at Alex. Alex cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, I'll drop it if you really think your okay and won't do it again." His mother sighed. "And I won't tell your father."

"Thanks, mom." Jack mumbled, flopping back down. He knew better than to say anything else. It would only get him into more trouble, he knew. Best to just keep his mouth shut.

A couple minutes later, Cece came down the stairs in a bathrobe, followed by Tori. "Good morning, Maggie. Good morning, kids." She greeted, heading to the kitchen. "Is anyone in the mood for pancakes?"

"That would be lovely, Cece." Their mother smiled, then looked to Tori. "Good morning, Tori."

"'Morning." She mumbled, following her mother into the kitchen. Jack briefly wondered why she was up. She certainly didn't look like she _wanted_ to be up. 

"After breakfast, we wanted to show you around the neighborhood, maybe further into the city." Cece continued from the kitchen. "I thought it'd be more fun than just sitting around the house together. I doubt you all want to be cooped up inside all day."

"I should go wake up Katie." Their mother said, getting up from the couch. Their father then came out of the bathroom in clothes, and headed to the kitchen too, probably for a cup of coffee.

The morning passed by, everyone was dressed and full of pancakes, fully awake now. Jack had on a sweatshirt, since he still felt rather cold. And then they all got ready to go.

Walking down the sidewalk, Katie glanced up at Jack, staring at him in confusion. Jack noticed, uncomfortably. "What?"

"How can you wear a sweatshirt? It's like eighty degrees, and there isn't a cloud in the sky!" She pointed out.

"I'm cold. So sue me." Jack rolled his eyes. He shuddered. "I randomly just got a feeling of dread, but I don't know why." 

"Wow, so dramatic." Katie giggled. "But I guess it's not me, so it doesn't matter."

"No, something doesn't feel right." Jack replied. "But I can't... explain it."

"It's just a side effect of your fever, Jack." Alex whispered to him.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." He hunched his shoulders, keeping up with the rest of them. It was a group of ten people, so it's not like he'd lose them in a crowd or anything. He was fine.

Cece pointed out the buildings where people she knew lived, such as apartments and houses. She talked about her neighbors like they were family. So Jack gathered that it was a close neighborhood.

"Oh, and that house they're rebuilding over there?" Cece indicated a driveway without a house. The ground looked scorched. "Our old neighbors, the Parrs, a jet crashed into their house. Luckily, they weren't home."

"A jet crashed into their house?" Julie repeated. "Why?"

"Well, there was a scuffle with this guy and a group of supers, and Mr. Incredible threw a car at the jet, and it exploded; I don't know all the details." Cece shrugged. "I just saw it from home. This was only a few months ago."

"Hold it, did you say supers?" Jack brightened up. 

"Oh, right!" Cece smiled at him. "That's why this city has been gaining fame. This city was where leaders from across the world gathered to sign a petition to make superheroes legal again."

"Superheroes were ever illegal?" Alex inquired.

"Oh, you didn't know? For about fifteen years. That is, until recently." Cece replied. "Cool, right? Where there's a lot of crime, there are a lot of heroes. This city has heroes like Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Frozone, etc.; It's amazing to see them in action. Though we've only seen them on TV."

"I've never heard of them before." Jack shrugged. "I'm guessing that Elastigirl has the same powers as Mister Fantastic?"

"Who now?" Tori asked.

"You know, the leader of the Fantastic Four?" Jack squinted at her. "Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and Thing?"

"Thing?" Carter echoed.

"He's a big orange rocky-looking guy." Katie explained. "He's actually very nice-" The siblings looked at her in alarm. "-O-or so I've heard." They exhaled.

"Never heard of them before." Richard shrugged.

"Huh." Julie thought for a moment. "Have you heard of, uh... X-Men?"

"Where girls are men too." Jack nodded. Katie giggled to herself.

"Nope." Cece shook her head.

"The Avengers?" Alex tried. "I don't know; they're big where we're from."

"Well, here in Municiberg, we have other well-known heroes." Richard explained. "You guys seem to know a lot about heroes."

Alex flinched. "Oh, uh, I guess you could say we're big fans."

"I mean, who wouldn't be?" Jack pointed out. "Superheroes are just really cool. And they help people. There are some who typically only come out for bigger more important crisis's, like Thor or Doctor Strange. Then there are some superheroes who are also every day heroes, like Spider-Man. I mean, his title is literally 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.'"

"Isn't Thor the god of Thunder in Norse Mythology?" Tori pointed out.

"Yep." Jack nodded. "Thor, son of Odin."

"You mean a super with, like, lightning powers used the name?" Carter asked.

"No, silly." Katie laughed. "The actual god." Everyone looked at her and Jack.

"I mean, we wouldn't really know, I guess, but..." Alex said quickly.

"ANY-way," Julie interrupted. "Why don't you tell us about some of the heroes here? Like Mr. Incredible and Frozone?"

"Mr. Incredible has been a hero for as long as I can remember." Cece said. "He's a big shot; really popular. He's got superhuman strength, and is a little destructive, at times. Though he's not, like, a maniac or anything. He just needs to use it for heavyweight problems."

"Frozone, as you've probably guessed, has ice powers." Richard chimed in. "He's also been around for a while. He's really cool; no pun intended."

"Elastigirl was an advocate for hero rights, actually." Cece added. "She was kind of who brought back the momentum for bringing back supers. Also thanks to DevTech."

"That's actually pretty cool." Alex nodded. "I should've realized this city had heroes. I mean, if there's a high crime rate, there's gotta be someone to stop it. Right?"

"Exactly." They continued to talk and walk for a while, and Jack's head started to feel a little bit foggy. He ignored it, since it was probably just the fever. They'd probably head back sometime within the next hour or so. Hopefully.

He was slowly starting to fall behind of the group, little black spots appearing in his vision. He had to take a quick break, or he'd likely pass out. Who knew a simple fever could have such an effect?

Catching his breath, he ran to catch up with the group, when a shadow suddenly loomed over him.

"Look out!" Someone shouted, milliseconds before the thing causing the shadow hit him, he was tackled by something. A car crashed into the ground a few feet away from where he was pushed. If it weren't for that person, he'd have been crushed.

"What in the-" Jack's vision focused on a boy on top of him, a little shorter than him, catching his breath.

"Oh thank god!" He exclaimed, rolling off Jack. "I thought I wouldn't make it for a second. Are you okay?" Blue eyes met Jack's, and his chest suddenly felt tight. Next to him sat a boy in a red super suit, an orange, black, and yellow symbol on his chest. "Hey," The boy poked Jack in the forehead. "Can you hear me?"

Jack slowly sat up. "I'm okay, I think. Uh, thanks for that." He stared at the boy for a hot minute. "And you are?"

"A superhero." He replied. "I haven't really come up with a good name yet, since I'm kind of new to this. Anyway, that's not important. You've gotta get out of here, because things are about to get ugly." The boy helped Jack to his feet before running off faster than Jack could blink.

"Ah. Super speed." Jack noted before hurrying to the sidewalk.

"Jack!" Julie suddenly embraced him out of nowhere. "Don't scare us like that! Why were you so far from the group?" Alex, Katie, and the rest of them caught up, looking to Jack for an answer.

"I..." Jack was still processing what had just happened. The black spots where still there. "I don't feel so good."

~

Jack blinked awake, staring at the ceiling of the house. Apparently, he'd passed out. Or was that all a dream? He sat up slowly, feeling a bit of pain in his back from when he was tackled into the road. No, that was definitely real.

"Oh, Jack!" Julie looked over at him from where she sat on the end of the bed. "Good, you're awake. You had us all scared. I mean, almost getting crushed by a car, and then passing out? If it weren't for that superhero, you would've been... are you okay? You're face is really red."

"Is it? P-probably just the fever." Those pretty blue eyes stayed in his mind, refusing to leave.

"Is it back? While you were asleep, your fever actually gradually went down." Julie informed him. "I was just changing the wet towel on your forehead." She indicated the washcloth in her hands.

"It's nothing, then." Jack stated firmly. "All that didn't feel very real... almost like a dream. My head was getting kinda fuzzy."

"You should've said something." Julie sighed. "We could've taken a break or something and went back sooner."

"Did you see him, Julie?" Jack piped up suddenly. Julie looked at him, confused. "He looked like he was around our age. There are supers here that are kids like us! You can't tell me that isn't cool!"

"Glad to see you're feeling better." She smiled. "But don't get any ideas. There will be no heroics from the Power Pack here. Or any individual members of it. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Jack hunched his shoulders. "But this isn't about me. It just made me feel a little less lonely."

"What?"

"Well, you know, I don't mean lonely, like that." Jack shrugged. "I mean that he's the first super I've met that's even remotely close to our ages. Other than Franky, I guess." He then looked up at Julie, his face getting hotter. "Look, forget I said that! It's not a big deal."

"Aw, and here I thought you were finally showing a little bit of a big heart." Julie teased.

"If you tell Alex or Katie I said any of that, I swear-"

"Relax, I won't if you don't want me to. I'm no 'Tattletale'." Julie smiled when Jack groaned. "You know, because you mentioned Franky? And his super hero name was Tattletale since he can see into the future-"

"Yes, I get it Julie." Jack rolled his eyes.

"I thought it was funny." Julie slumped. "I should probably tell mom and dad you're awake." She stood up from the bed, and left. Jack sat there in silence, thinking. Why had his stomach done that odd flip when he'd looked into his eyes? And his heart seemed to skip a beat. What was up with that?

Maybe it was just because it happened so fast? Maybe he was startled? Whatever it was, he was left with wanting to meet him again. But how exactly was he supposed to do that? That meeting was by chance. The only way he could possibly meet him again, was if there was some sort of crime, and he was nearby. But what are the chances of that?

The door suddenly burst open, and he was tackled by a small human, meaning Katie. "Why the heck did you have to pass out like that? You scared us!" She shouted, pulling him into a crushing bear hug. For a seven year old girl, she had a rather strong grip.

Alex and his parents entered a few seconds later, joining the hug. "We're glad you're okay, honey." His mother said. Jack waited a couple minutes before wriggling out of the hug.

"Okay, I need to be able to breathe!" He protested, pushing away. "Relax, it's not like I was dying or anything. I'm fine, okay?"

"It seems like every time you say that, you're the opposite of fine." Alex pointed out. Jack rolled his eyes. "In any case, you should've said something sooner."

"I'm glad I didn't." Jack muttered. "Anyway, did I miss anything?"

"Not really." His father shrugged. "We brought you back, and you were only out for a couple hours." 

After things relaxed a bit, people went back to doing whatever it was they were doing before. Jack felt out of place, so he asked his mother if he could just walk around the neighborhood. 

She said he could if he stayed on the same street as the house. Saying he would, he headed out to clear his head. To be honest, he just wanted to be by himself to think. 

He walked up and down the sidewalk a couple times before noticing a man running down the other side of the street holding a purse. A little ways away, there was an old lady trying to chase him.

Willing himself to transform, with a glow, he was in his hero costume. "Sit tight ma'am; I got him!" He called back, running after him. While it was true the man was faster than him, and had more stamina, Jack knew exactly how to catch him.

Turning into a cloud, he flew faster after the man, going above and past him, then condensing himself to the density of a brick. The man tripped over him, and he punched the man's lights out. 

He ran back to the woman, handing her her purse. Apparently, she'd called the police, because they showed up just about then to arrest the man. 

Not wanting to bring attention to himself, Jack ran away down the street and turned the corner, heading somewhat deeper into the city, and farther from the neighborhood.

Before he knew it, he was lost. Staring out at the city, he leaned against a building, wondering if he could back track his steps to return home. But he hesitated. There was an odd chill in the air. There weren't many people out, which was strange for a city.

He heard screaming ahead, and started racing towards the commotion. Turning the corner, he saw a group of people with the same uniforms as that boy, trying to fight a huge robot.

But... where was that boy? Scanning the area as screaming people ran away, he spotted him with his leg stuck in a gutter. He heard a loud crash and saw the robot flinging a car towards the boy.

Despite himself, his legs moved on their own to reach the boy in time. Grabbing a discarded car door on the street, he dove in front of the boy, holding up the door as a shield. Bracing himself, the car smashed against him, sending him stumbling back.

"Woah-ho! Never done that before." He chuckled, trying not to fall over, feeling dizzy. The boy looked up at him in shock, trying to process what just happened.

"What are you doing?!" He exclaimed after a moment.

"Um... returning the favor?" Jack shrugged. Why did he look so panicked?

"No, no, I mean where's your mask?" He asked. Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Mom says our identities are our most treasured possessions. Or did you _want_ people to know who you are?"

"Well, the suit didn't come with one, so I guess I never thought about it." He explained. "Anyway, I noticed you're a bit stuck there. Need a hand?" The boy grumbled something, but didn't object.

Looking around for something he could use to pry open the little gate over the gutter, he remembered the car from earlier, and spotted a metal pole had detached from the bottom of it.

Sticking it between the grate, he used all of his weight to pry it open. The boy kept tugging at his leg, ready to break free at any moment. It was true that Jack wasn't that heavy, so putting all his weight into it wasn't helping much. But he had to do something.

For a sliver of a second, the grate bent just a little, releasing the boy. It was then that the pole snapped. Jack almost tripped, but the boy caught him before he face planted.

"Hey, thanks." He said, helping him regain balance. He then looked over at the robot, hesitating. "They... seem to have things handled." He turned back to Jack, his eyes practically sparkling. "I've never met another kid my age that has powers! I've never seen you before. Where do you go to school?"

"I don't live here." Jack replied. 

"Oh." Dash furrowed his brows, confused. "So you're here for vacation? Odd place to choose. Do you not live in a city?"

"No, we do. New York City." Jack then crossed his arms and huffed. "We came here to visit mom's cousins. But I had no idea there were other supers here! It's really cool to meet another kid with powers!"

"That's what I was thinking!" Dash was bouncing on his heels from excitement. "Wait- what exactly _are_ your powers?"

"I can control my mass." Jack shrugged. "I can condense myself to the size of a bug, I can become a gas or a liquid of I wanted, and when I'm in gas form, I can fly, which is extremely helpful. It's pretty cool, I know."

"Whoa!" Dash's jaw dropped. "That's incredible! I have super speed, which can let me run up short walls and briefly on the ceiling, and also run on water. My reflexes are pretty good too."

"Run on water? I didn't think that was possible! Just how fast can you go?" Jack asked, his own childish excitement poking through. He then paused, remembering what his brother had told him. "I really should go. If my brother finds out about this, he'll kill me. I can't bring attention to myself right now."

"Well that sucks." Dash hunched his shoulders, then brightened again. "Wait, wait, can I talk to you again? Maybe meet up somewhere? Where are you staying?"

"In uh, Metroville, I think it's called." Jack told him.

"Really? We used to live there! We now live up the road, actually. We could meet at the intersection!" Dash said excitedly. "I really want to know you better. It'll be fun!"

Jack felt his face heat up. "W-well, yeah! That'd be great." _Play it cool, Jack. Just relax. This is may be the single greatest day of your life._ He glanced over at the kid's family, who had successfully taken down the robot. "I really should be going now."

"Oh- wait!" Dash removed his mask, handing it to Jack. "Here. To protect your identity."

"H-hold on, _what_? What about you?" Jack pointed out, glancing around nervously. The boy's freckled face showed he wasn't worried about it in the least.

"Super speed, remember? They won't see me." Dash grinned before racing off towards his family. Jack watched him go, stunned. A smile forced it's way onto his face, and he put on the mask before running back the way he came. He could probably find his way back alright.

About four hours of wrong turns and dead ends later, Jack finally found his way back to the neighborhood. Despite the fact that he should be exhausted, and it had started raining, so he was freezing and soaked to the bone, he still felt like the luckiest kid alive.

Splashing through the puddles on the sidewalk, he practically dove onto the porch to get out of the rain. And while he would normally be miserable, he was still grinning like an idiot.

He nearly knocked on the door still in his super suit, but realized and quickly detransformed, sticking the mask in the pocket of his shorts. Because he was in his super suit the entire time, his regular clothes were almost completely dry, which would be suspicious, so he reluctantly stood out in the rain for a little longer.

Shaking off a little bit of the rain, he then knocked on the door. Tori opened the door, and Jack awkwardly waved at her. Upon seeing that he was utterly soaked, she quickly ran into the bathroom and brought him a towel, making sure he dried off before walking into the house.

"You can leave your shoes on the porch." She said, moving aside. He kicked off his socks and shoes before walking into the house. The first person who saw him was Katie, who immediately bust out laughing.

Alex and Julie looked up from whatever they were doing, both alarmed to see him shivering there, glaring daggers at Katie. "Jack! Where the heck have you been for, like, five hours?!" Alex scolded him. 

Julie stood up and helped him dry off a little better. "Go take a shower so you don't get sick again. You _better_ not be sick again... why are you smiling?"

"Smiling? I'm not smiling." Jack forced his face to become neutral. Julie cocked an eyebrow at him. "I'll go take that shower now."

~

"How did you _lose_ your mask?!" Violet exclaimed at her brother when they were home. Dash rolled his eyes at her, hunching his shoulders. "Someone could've seen you! What would we do then, huh? If everyone knew who we were?"

"Relax, Violet." Dash grumbled. "Nobody saw me. I was running too fast."

"It's still dangerous, Dash." His mother sighed, looking him in the eyes. "How exactly _did_ you lose your mask?"

"I-I don't know!" Dash lied, breaking eye contact. "Maybe it was knocked off or something."

"And where were you for most of that fight, for that matter?" His father inquired. "I noticed you weren't there."

"I got stuck." Dash mumbled.

"What was that? Sweetie, you've got to speak up." His mother frowned.

"I got... stuck." He repeated a little louder, not looking up. "I was trying to avoid the cars being thrown at me, and I tripped, and my leg got stuck in a gutter. Then another car came flying at me, and-" He paused, debating on whether or not to tell them about the boy. He shook his head. "Um, I managed to get free and run out of the way. It, uh, nicked me, so maybe that's when."

"Oh, honey..." His mother hugged him. "You don't need to get embarrassed about getting stuck. Heroes get stuck all the time. But I didn't think your mask could come off so easily... I'll have to call Edna about it."

"...Yeah." Dash nodded, leaning back against the couch. "Hey, um, mom?"

"Yes honey?"

Dash took a deep breath. _Here goes._ "A friend, uh, asked me a few days ago if I wanted to come over, um, tomorrow at noon. I forgot to bring it up, but I was wondering if I could go? It's not far; just down the hill, actually. The same neighborhood where we used to live?"

"Oh, really?" His mother smiled. "Of course you can, sweetie. Just down the hill; I gotcha. Do you need a ride?"

"No, I can just walk." Dash said quickly. "I might be home around dinner time, if that's okay."

"No worries, that would be absolutely fine." She nodded. "Have I met them before? I should probably talk to their parents-"

"Oh, no, you don't need to." Dash interrupted. "You haven't met them before, but that's okay. It'll be fine. So, uh, thanks mom." She looked at him curiously for a moment before he ran off up to his room.

Helen thought for a minute before walking over to the phone to call Edna. Something was a little fishy about all of this, but she didn't know what. More importantly, Dash needed a new mask before something happened, and his identity was accidentally revealed.

The phone dialed, and Edna picked up almost immediately. "Daaaahling!" She greeted enthusiastically. "It's been so long since your last call, but I saved the number."

"It's only been a few months, E." Helen pointed out. "But you sound rather excited. Did something good happen?"

"Well, ever since supers became legal again, I've been very busy with making all kinds of super suits for those who never had a chance to start superhero work before they had to hide your powers. People have come from all over the world." Edna explained. "My work will be seen and appreciated all over the world! It's marvelous, dahling, marvelous!"

"Wasn't your work already being seen and appreciated all over the world?" Helen pointed out.

"Those selfish stick figures don't count." Edna scoffed. "Those weren't even _close_ to my best work; you insult me! Who cares about those outfits? Some of them hardly covered anything! I tell you, the world really is going downhill."

"Right... well, I'm so sorry to bother you; you sound busy." Helen apologized.

"Nonsense, dahling, I enjoy your calls." Edna dismissed. "I have some space in my schedule at the moment."

"There's something I wanted to ask you." She began. "Dash's mask came off during a fight with a robot."

"What? That's impossible!" Edna exclaimed. "Those masks are designed to stay on unless someone takes them off. Even if it was knocked off or ripped off or something, there would be marks. There would be blood. But that shouldn't happen, because the masks don't just _come off_."

"Well, there weren't any marks on his face, and he certainly wasn't bleeding..." Helen paused. "So what are you saying? He took off his mask on purpose? Why on earth would he do that?"

"Well I'm sure I don't know, dahling." Edna replied. "He's not my child! Perhaps someone else took it off. Or maybe it was like it was with another super; it was a long time ago, so I can't seem to recall the super's name. But perhaps he was protecting someone else."

"By taking off his mask? How is that helping?" Helen frowned.

"Another super dahling." Edna shrugged. "How did he say he lost it?"

"His leg got stuck in a grate over a gutter." Helen told her. "A car nicked him as he escaped. He was lucky to get unstuck when he did."

"Or perhaps someone helped him get unstuck. Some super without a mask." Edna offered. "Of course, this is highly unlikely, but you can't dismiss the possibility." She paused. "Unfortunately, my break just ended. I must go now dahling, but I'll make him a new mask. Come by tomorrow morning!"

_Click._

Helen sighed, putting away the phone. Edna designed the mask, so she had to know what she was talking about. Helen highly doubted that Edna had made some sort of error in designing the mask, so what exactly was Dash hiding? Dash didn't tend to lie without a very good reason. Avoid questions, maybe, but straight up lie? Hardly.

Maybe she was overreacting and it really was an accident. She ultimately decided to say nothing and go to bed. It was likely she was just tired, and nothing actually happened.

It was already late, so she'd just wait and see if anything else happened. Hopefully, nothing would.

~

The next day they'd all decided to relax. The first day had been a little stressful, so they all stayed home, minding their own business and chilling around the house. Well, more like in the living room.

The four siblings were in the living room, not really doing much. Alex was working on some over-the-summer assignment, Julie was helping Katie read, and Jack was tapping his foot impatiently, staring at the clock.

"If you're bored, you should do something." Alex pointed out, glancing over at Jack. Jack hardly heard him, staring too intently at the clock. "What exactly are you waiting for?"

"Noon." Jack answered distractedly.

"Why?"

"Got something to do at twelve." Jack shrugged.

Alex frowned. "And what is that?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Quit interrogating me, it's none of your business." Alex glared at him.

"It was a genuine question." He said, lowering his voice. "Because if you're thinking of going out and 'going on patrol', then I have to-"

"I'm not. Can't you have a little more faith in me? Geez." Jack cut him off. "I'm simply going to take a walk. Is that so wrong? Afternoon is a great time of day, and it sucks to just be sitting around doing nothing."

"Point taken." Alex nodded, returning his attention to his paper. "But why _exactly_ twelve o'clock?"

"Because why _not_?" Jack countered. Alex grumbled something and didn't reply. Jack glanced back at the clock, and got up. "Whelp, I'll be back later. You can tell mom what I told you if she asks." 

Slipping out the door, the moment his feet hit the sidewalk, he started sprinting down the street. He still had the mask in his pocket so he could return it. His only question was which 'end of the street' did he mean?

He ran around the neighborhood in search of Dash. Since it wasn't that big of neighborhood, it wouldn't be too hard. He found him standing at the corner where the neighborhood ended, with a road leading up a hill.

"Hey!" He greeted, skidding to a stop beside him. "I actually had no idea if you'd remember or not."

"I'm the one who said it, so I'd feel pretty bad if I forgot." Dash chuckled.

"Oh, uh, here." He held out Dash's mask, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. "I thought I'd return it."

"You can keep it. You need it more than I do, and mom already had a new one made, so I'm all set." Dash told him. "I have the suit with me. Just in case." He indicated the backpack on his back.

"Always gotta be prepared." Jack nodded, feeling incredibly awkward. "Y'know, it's really cool that you guys fight as a family. Our parents don't know about our powers."

"Wait, they don't? How come? Aren't your parents supers too?" Dash furrowed his brows in confusion.

"No." Jack shook his head. "We weren't born with powers. It's a really long story."

"Really? Tell me!" Dash was bouncing on his heels again, which Jack thought was rather adorable. _Wait a second._

"O-okay." Jack chuckled nervously, his cheeks warming up. "Well... oh! Hold on. We need to take the..." He lowered his voice. "Super Sacred Secret Origin Oath."

"Whahat?" Dash cocked an eyebrow, smiling. Jack nodded. "Okay, what do I need to do?"

"Well, it's supposed to be sealed with blood, but spit will do." Jack shrugged, spitting into his hand. Dash mirrored the action, and Jack sandwiched his hand between his own hands.

"Alright then. Do you, Dash... uh..."

"Dashiell Parr."

"Dashiell Parr," Jack echoed. "Swear to _never_ reveal the Secret Origin of Power Pack so long as you live, under threat of suffering a fate even more disgusting than the Super Sacred Secret Origin Oath itself?"

"I do." Dash nodded. Jack released his hand and grinned, wiping his hands off on his shorts. Dash did the same.

"Alright then. Prepare to have you mind blown."

Jack started to go into detail about how his dad was a researcher and how they were apparently creating this thing that had the potential to end the world or something, but he didn't know that. He described how the aliens, called Snarks, abducted their parents in order to get that information from their father's head.

He told him about the whole encounter with the dying alien, and how they got their powers, yada yada yada. While he told the story, they walked together down the sidewalk. Dash listened in awe, not exactly sure how to react to being told this.

Jack kind of trailed off with the story, not sure if Dash was taking him seriously or not. It was a pretty ridiculous story, considering it would confirm there being extra-terrestrial life out there. Even scientist and astronauts haven't found any proof of such things, and yet Jack told this story so realistically, he couldn't help but believe him.

"You mean aliens actually exist?" Was Dash's only question. Jack was so relieved that he believed him that he started laughing. "What? I'm serious!"

"Yes, yes they exist." Jack nodded, calming down. "But you actually believe me? It's a crazy story like something out of a kid's imagination!"

"I think you've no reason to lie to me." Dash shrugged. "And adults could stand to be a little more imaginative, since they don't actually know everything that's 'real life'."

"I know! I hate it whenever they say, 'this isn't some story out of a fairy tale. It's real life.' Like no, duh, Alex! Why do you think I'm saying... it..." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sorry."

"Who's Alex?" Dash asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"My older brother. I mean, he was there, and has powers too, and he's seen plenty of crazy things, but if I tell him something he didn't witness, he won't believe a word I say." Jack hunched his shoulders. "It's annoying. Makes _me_ feel like the crazy one."

"My sister Violet's the same way." Dash sighed. "They think that just because we're younger, we don't think realistically. They seem to think our brains are all rainbows and magic."

Jack laughed, putting his hands in his pockets as they continued to walk. "Say, how many siblings do you have? I have three; two older and one younger."

"Just two. Violet, and my baby brother Jack-Jack." Dash answered, then paused. " _Two_ older siblings? That sounds terrible. Having Violet is enough for me."

"Apart from the double lectures at times, it's not so bad most of the time. Not that Katie never lectures me." Jack grumbled. "I never feel like I do the right thing, because everyone else just shuts me down all the time. 'You've been in this world for only ten years!' As if that matters whatsoever-"

"Wait, you're younger than me?" Dash interrupted. Jack stopped, glancing down at him.

"What? How old are you?" He asked, confused.

"Twelve!" Dash exclaimed. "You mean to tell me that you're ten and taller than me? What the heck!"

Jack bit his tongue trying not to laugh. He was actually pretty happy that the subject had changed. "Not my fault you haven't hit your growth spurt yet."

"Shaddap." Dash pouted, crossing his arms.

"Anyway, what about you? In New York city, we have so many active superheroes, so I had no idea they were ever illegal. How'd you guys come out of hiding?" Jack inquired, changing the subject yet again.

"Well," Dash began. "At the time, we didn't know that dad had lost his job, but he'd gotten a message from this secret part of the government or something, and was called to do hero work on a secluded island."

He started explaining how his mom found out, and took a plane to go there after getting new super suits from Edna. He told Jack how he snuck onto the plane, and Violet had followed; how their mom found out and thought they'd left Jack-Jack alone, and then went on to tell him about the missiles.

Then he told him about the whole encounter with bad guys in the jungle on the island, and he learned he could run on water, and then they were captured by this villain with wonky hair. Something about a robot destroying the city and weapons and how 'when everyone's super, no one will be'.

He told him about the escape, how they got back to the city, and how they brought down the robot. "And then we went home thinking everything was over, but then that supervillain tried to kidnap Jack-Jack. He dropped Jack-Jack for some reason, and my dad threw mom since she could catch him and stretch like a parachute, and then he threw a car at the jet. Long story short, the jet fell on our house aaaaand... yeah."

"Wait, but that doesn't explain how you became a superhero." Jack pointed out. "Weren't superheroes still illegal?"

"Yeah. That was only half of the story." Dash told him, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. "Then a few weeks later, this mole/supervillain or something came out of the ground in a giant drill, and we tried to stop it, but he got away, and then..."

After another hour or so, he explained everything with DevTech and the mesmerized supers, and all that excitement, making supers legal again. His mother hadn't told him the full story, but he told the parts he did know.

"And apparently, Jack-Jack has powers, but they're all super random and crazy, so it was really hard to keep track of him and all that." Dash explained, continuing on about the chaos that ensued, and learning to control Jack-Jack's powers, and all that.

"What kind of powers does he have, exactly?" Jack asked, trying not to laugh.

"Let's see... He can turn into this weird pink monster with sharp teeth, he can catch on fire, shoot lasers from his eyes, go through things, levitate things with his mind, completely ignore gravity, turn to metal, go into different dimensions..." Dash trailed off, realizing Jack was gawking at him. "Basically, you name it, he's got it."

"That has got to be the most annoying thing to deal with on a daily basis." Jack replied. Dash laughed.

"Well, mom and dad mostly deal with all that." He explained. "Speaking of parents... how do you do hero stuff without them knowing?" Dash asked.

"We get lucky, a lot of the time." Jack answered. "We've somehow met a ton of other heroes, so some of them know who we are. It gets a little crazy. And there are plenty of times we almost got found out. Probably because we don't wear masks. I don't know why we never thought about it before."

"I don't know either. I mean, if you want to protect your identity, why wouldn't you wear something that'd actually do it?" Dash pointed out. "But I guess you don't really think about it on the battlefield."

"I'd hardly consider city streets a battlefield." Jack scoffed, then looked around, the color draining from his face. "B-by the way, where _are_ we?"

The neighborhood had disappeared and was replaced by tall buildings and busy roads. People were all over the sidewalks, always seemingly in a hurry. Dash looked around, his face revealing he had no idea either.

"Uh-oh." Dash voiced Jack's thoughts exactly. "I think we took a wrong turn... this isn't good." He looked around worriedly for where they came from, but everything looked the same. "Ohh, no."

They tried retracing their steps, walking back the way they came, but somehow got even more lost. Jack wasn't going to lie; it was actually pretty scary to be surrounded by strangers, with the only person he knows being someone he met yesterday.

"It won't be hard to get separated in these crowds." Jack observed, trying to stick close to Dash. "Of all the times of day to get lost, this might be the worst." He felt Dash grab his hand. "Huh?" His face immediately grew red.

"What? It'll be harder to get separated this way." Dash told him, not looking at him. "It'd be easier if we could look around from higher place. But for now, We just gotta hope we can find our way back within a few hours. If I'm late getting back home, my mom is going to kill me."

"My mom would probably be panicking, and my brother would be the one to kill me." Jack chuckled. "Let's just hope two kids don't gather any unwanted attention from anyone."

"Yeah." Dash nodded. They had to keep walking if they didn't want to get trampled, so they mostly followed the crowd, looking for some kind of landmark to put them in the right direction.

After what felt like hours of searching, they only ended up getting more turned around, and eventually lost their sense of direction. Taking a break on a bench outside a building, they contemplated their next move.

"Whelp." Jack said after a minute. "We're lost."

"You don't say." Dash replied sarcastically, gazing out at the cars rushing past. "Sorry about this. It's kinda my fault."

"Don't blame yourself, it was an accident." Jack assured him. "Besides, it's not all bad. At least we got to know one another a little better?"

"Yeah." Dash agreed. "Maybe I could try to run up a building to get a better look?" He stared at the tall building across the street before slouching. "Doubt I'd even make it halfway up though before coming back down. And probably break something."

"A higher... OH MY GOD I'M SO STUPID." Jack hid his face in his hands. Dash looked at him in confusion. Jack peeked through his fingers at him. "I can just float above the buildings to get a better look around."

"Wait, I thought your power was controlling your density?" Dash pointed out.

"Yes, which means controlling my atoms. I can make them super close together and basically shrink myself, or I can spread them out and become a cloud." Jack explained. "And as a cloud, I'd be able to fly. I told you this already, didn't I?"

"You're kidding." Dash grinned at him. Jack had been afraid he'd be mad for forgetting. "That's so cool! What're we waiting for? C'mon, let's go find somewhere to put on our super suits!" He grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him off the bench.

Slipping into an alleyway unnoticed, the two went deeper in until they were completely hidden by shadows. "Okay, we won't be seen here."

"Yeah." Jack nodded, the ring of light already beginning his transformation. He put on his mask, and glanced over at Dash, who was gawking at him. "Oh, yeah. You haven't seen that before."

"How-what-I don't- _what_?" He stuttered, staring at him in awe. "How did you do that?"

"Came with the power, I guess." Jack shrugged, his face warming up. "You, uh, going to change?"

"Yes! Right. That. Just a sec." Jack turned around as he put on the suit in the dark corner. About two seconds later, he was back next to him. "Okay. I'll follow your lead."

Jack nodded before turning to gas, and began floating upward, above the buildings. Dash kept a close eye on him, ready to follow. Once Jack was above the buildings, he looked around for the houses of Metroville. They couldn't be that far away, right?

After a couple minutes of searching with his eyes, he spotted it near the hills. "Ohh, no." He grumbled. It would probably take a few hours to get back on foot. And by then, it'd be evening, probably.

He looked down at Dash, and nodded, meaning 'follow me'. Dash chased after him as he briskly started floating in that direction. It was a big city, so it was going to take a while to get there, even at their pace.

Jack felt like an idiot having not thought of this earlier, and Dash likely thought him an idiot, even though he didn't say it. Great first day as friends. If that's what they were. Jack hoped that's what they were. But probably not after getting them lost.

It still took them about an hour or two to get back to the street, and by then, the sun was starting to set. Jack float back down to the ground beside Dash, and condensed himself back to normal.

Not looking at Dash, the two of them changed back into their normal clothes in the bushes. "Well, uh." Jack looked up at him finally when they were back out in the open. "Sorry for being an idiot."

"What are you talking about?" Dash laughed. "That was so cool! It felt like a real adventure. I haven't really done that in a number of months. It was fun!" He paused, picking at his sleeve. "Do you... wanna meet up again tomorrow?"

"Are you sure?" Jack asked. Dash nodded firmly. "Then absolutely! But for now, we should really go back home before our parents start to worry. Uh, see you tomorrow!"

The two of them parted ways, Dash running up the road that trailed up the hill. Jack hummed to himself happily as he walked back to their cousins house, relieved that he hadn't screwed up like he'd initially thought.

Walking down the sidewalk, he couldn't stop thinking about about Dash. The whole day had been nothing but searching for a way back home, and yet there was something so special about it. _I mean, we were kind of holding hands for most of it. B-but that was only so we wouldn't get separated. Right? Right._

It was more of a subconscious thing, walking up the porch. He could've sworn he heard Alex's voice for a second, but it was likely his imagination. Still lost in his thoughts, someone grabbed his shoulder.

Alarmed, his knee-jerk response was to spin around and punch the person in the face, and jump back, ready to fight.

"Ow! Jack, what the heck!?" Oops. It was just Alex. Gritting his teeth, he was very clearly trying not to curse. "Why would you _do_ that!?"

"You startled me! It's not like I did it on purpose! You don't sneak up on me, okay? It was a knee-jerk response, I'm sorry!" Jack apologized, completely frozen out of shock at what he'd just done.

"Startled you? I was calling your name while you were coming towards the house and onto the porch! I thought you were ignoring me!" Alex protested, covering his eye with his hand in pain. "And who punches someone as a knee-jerk response!?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't hear you!" Jack tried explaining.

"How could you not hear me?! I was, like, four feet away!" Alex replied, pushing past him into the house. Jack quickly followed. His mood was clear the second he stepped into the house.

"Alex!" Their mother gasped. "Honey, what happened?"

"Do we have ice?" Alex asked, trying very hard to keep his tone calm, but it was obvious he was furious.

"Yes, in the freezer." Cece replied, hurrying to grab some for him. She handed him an ice pack, and he held it to his eye.

"Oh! Jack, sweetie, I'm glad your home." His mother then said, noticing Jack fidgeting nervously, looking at the ground. "Alex said you were out on a walk, but you were gone for about seven hours. What exactly were you doing?"

Jack didn't reply straight away. Alex rolled his eyes, winced, and then sat down, glaring into his lap. Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "I'm sorry I yelled, Jack. The real question here, is are _you_ okay? I can't imagine that just going on a walk put you on edge like that."

"Of course I'm okay! Why- why would you think I'm not?" Jack chuckled nervously, not looking up. "I was just, uh..." He glanced at his hand. "Thinking. I'm sorry, Alex. You didn't deserve that." _Well, kind of._ He added to himself silently.

"Wait, did you hit your brother?" His mother glared at him. Jack flinched.

"Well, yes, but it was an accident!" Jack sputtered. "It's not like I meant to; it just happened! He startled me really bad, but I don't know why I didn't hear him when he was calling my name. I just didn't!"

"Can we stop for a second and recall what he first said?" Julie interrupted, everyone looked to her. "He said he'd been thinking, which is a really bad sign. Look at him; he's fidgeting, and not even looking at us. He's apologizing to Alex, which is never a good sign, and clearly he's unsettled about something because he was so deep in thought he didn't hear Alex. Not to mention how on edge he was, considering he punched Alex as a knee-jerk response. Something is very wrong."

Everyone's eyes then shifted back to Jack, and he felt like crawling into a hole. They were expecting answers, but he didn't have any. "E-excuse me." He said, hurrying to the back bedroom, and shutting the door behind him.

 _Good job,_ _me._ He scolded himself, pulling his knees up to his chest, resting his face in his knees. _You're officially losing it. And for what? Some guy you met yesterday? A super your age? Is that it? Or is it something... unnatural? Weird? It's not possible for a guy to like another guy like that, is it? It's unheard of. Well, at least, I've never heard of it. I can't be the only one though, right?_

He closed his eyes to concentrate, and felt something wet trickle down his cheek. What? Was he crying? _No, no, no no no, stop it. This is not something to cry over, suck it up. Look it up or something. No, they'd see the search history. And what if they think I'm weird? Like something's wrong with me?_

Wiping his eyes, he took a deep breath, and curled into a ball on the bed, praying he'd forget it all in the morning.

~

Dash got home, and braced himself when his mother was waiting by the door. "You said you'd be back by dinner. It's seven o'clock." She informed him, looking down at him for answers.

"We, uh... lost track of time." Dash replied, slinking past her, trying to back away. He glanced down at his hand, and smiled a little. Pausing, he looked back up at his mother. "Right. Um. I will be going now."

"Uh-uh, you're not going anywhere, mister." His mother caught him by the handle on his backpack. His heart nearly stopped, thinking for a second she was going to open it. "Explain to me what you were doing."

"Why does it matter what we were doing?" Dash chuckled nervously. "We were just, uh, playing video games! Yeah. Nothing to make a big deal out of. Really mom, we just lost track of time. I'm sorry."

"Dash, something's wrong. I can tell." His mother crossed her arms, expecting an explanation.

"Can I, uh... _not_ talk about it?" Dash asked quietly. "It's got nothing to do with today. And it's not a big deal at all, really."

"I'm your mother. Everything's a big deal." She responded.

"It really isn't." Dash replied, backing away again. "Anyway, I'm, um, feeling really tired, so Imma just go to bed now, bye!" He bolted up the stairs before his mother could stop him.

Helen watched the stairs long after he was gone. "Well that was certainly... odd." She thought out loud. It only made her more suspicious. _Wait. What if it's a girl? What if he's... in love?_ "Oh my goodness."

"Did Dash come home?" Bob asked, coming into the living room. Upon noticing her expression, he walked up, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, you okay? Where's Dash?"

"He went up to his room, I think." She replied. "But he seemed a little off. He didn't say anything about his friend before, and I'm wondering if they're a girl, and he's in love."

" _Dash_?" Bob clarified. "You think _Dash_ is in love? He's only twelve years old."

"He can be twelve and in love." Helen said, turning around to face him. "Of course, I could be wrong and he's just tired or something. Best not to ask. I might only make him upset."

"Yeah." Bob sighed, remembering how Violet had responded to his help. "Might want to keep an eye on him though. Just in case."

~

The two of them kept meeting up each day, walking together, talking together, laughing together. Both of them had started feeling a little awkward around one another, as though they're unsure of everything they said.

Each time, they met up in costume after the next couple of days they'd witnessed crimes. Fighting crime together was a lot of fun, and they felt... connected, in a sense.

Today was the beginning of the second week Jack was staying, and they met up like usual. Walking down the street, it felt a little odd to be walking around so casually in hero costumes. Some people might just think they're regular kids who like superheroes, which might be for the best.

Crime seemed to be a daily occurrence here. It's not that Jack didn't like fighting crime, but he felt bad for the people of the city who had to deal with it. They'd only stopped things like purse thieves and the occasional assault in some alleys.

They knew how to get home now, and they did their best to time it okay. Today they had already stopped yet another purse thief and gotten him arrested. By now, these walks were basically patrols.

"I think we're only staying for another week or two." Jack said, after Dash had asked. "This week really went by fast."

"Yeah." Dash agreed, nudging Jack playfully. "But you know what they say; time passes quickly when you're having fun."

Jack chuckled nervously. "I guess so. Hey, uh, can I ask you a question?" Dash looked up at him. _Do you like me?_ "Do you... uh... think we shouldn't be doing this? Without the knowledge of others? I mean, if something happens, how would we tell them?" He paused. "Shoot, I sound like Alex."

"No, you make a point." Dash nodded. "But we're supers. What could happen?"

"Fair enough." Jack shrugged, as they continued walking. A couple minutes later, they heard an odd sound coming from a nearby alley. "Okay, I don't like that."

"Wanna check it out?" Dash suggested, already heading in. Jack followed. _Please, please tell me I didn't jinx us._ It was dark; lit dimly by the sun in the sky. The sound was probably just rats or something.

Nope.

"So you're the two pipsqueaks who got my men sent to jail." The two of them froze. _Dang it._ Jack thought as they slowly turned around, seeing a muscular man about two times their size. "You're a lot smaller than I pictured."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Both of them exclaimed in unison. The man rubbed his temples in annoyance.

"No matter. I'm still willing to hurt a child or two." He sighed, glaring down at them. "I'll let you live if you stay out of our business."

"How can you expect us to do that when we've no idea what's 'your business' or not?" Jack pointed out. 

"And even if we did, do you honestly expect us to listen to you? I've fought bigger baddies than you." Dash added. "Kind of."

"You're dumber than you look, too." The man sighed. "I was hoping not to get my hands too dirty." He started reaching for the hilt of a gun. Jack's eyes widened. _Whelp. Guess I jinxed us after all._

Dash wasn't so hesitant. He ran at the guy, jumping up and uppercutting him in the jaw. The man grabbed his gun and shot at him, missing by two feet, as Dash was already gone.

Looking for an escape, Jack grabbed Dash by the wrist and started running in the opposite direction. If they could get out in the open, hopefully he wouldn't chase them. 

He only ended up steering them into a dead end. _Crap, crap, crap, it can't end like this! No choice but to fight I guess._ They turned around as the man turned the corner, cornering them.

"Nowhere left to run, kids." He taunted, pointing his gun at them. "Too bad really. You could've lived."

"I don't plan on going down without a fight." Jack said, sliding his foot back, ready to fight. Dash took a running leap at him, punching him in the face. When the man tried to grab him, Jack pulled him out of reach, then used the momentum to throw himself forward, body slamming the man in the gut, elbow first.

After knocking the wind out of him, they tried to go around him, but the man grabbed Jack's leg. Even when he kicked him in the face, he didn't let go, using his other hand to grab him by the throat, and point the gun at his head.

"Tell you what." He said as Dash stood, frozen in place, afraid that if he moved, Jack would die. "I'll let you two live if you meet my demands."

Jack rolled his eyes, looking Dash in the eyes, hoping he'd get the message. Dash paused, then relaxed. "Like hell we will." Jack turned to gas just as the man pulled the trigger. While the man was in shock from the boy suddenly changing his state of matter, Dash roundhoused him in the crotch. Then Jack changed back and drop kicked the man in the head hard enough to knock him out.

Since the gun had fired right next Jack's head, there was a loud ringing in his ear. Dash high fived him, his mouth moving like he was talking. But Jack couldn't hear him. A bit of panic started bubbling inside him, and he felt a slight burning on the side of his head. Feeling where the burn was, he looked at his hand, which now had blood on it. Only a millisecond later, he felt the blood trickle down his face. He hadn't changed fast enough for it not to do any damage.

While the bullet had never hit him, the heat of the gun when fired burned him. Looking back at Dash, who's face had gone white, he wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve. "I'm okay, I'm okay, don't worry!" He assured him, barely loud enough for himself to hear. The ringing lessened a bit, but he couldn't yet hear out of his right ear.

"You're bleeding! You're bleeding! What do I do!?" Dash panicked, looking around quickly for something that could stop the bleeding and put pressure on the wound. There wasn't anything he could do.

"I'm not dying! Pull yourself together!" Jack grabbed his shoulders, staring right into his eyes. "Everything is fine. Okay?" Dash nodded quickly, taking a deep breath. "But I, uh, can't hear out of my right ear- Don't. Panic."

Dash nodded again, taking a few more deep breaths to compose himself. Tears were poking out of the corners of his eyes. "I'm not panicking, not panicking, it's okay, everything is fine- are you sure everything is fine?! Ohh, you were right! We never should've-"

"Hey! Hey, look at me!" Jack smacked him lightly on the cheek, getting his attention. "Everything is fine. I'm pretty sure it's only temporary. I am o-kay. Alright? Calm down."

Dash collected himself, wiping his eyes quickly. "Sorry. I got scared."

"It's fine, don't worry." Jack assured him, not letting go of his shoulders. "Now we should report him to the police before he wakes up. Okay?"

"Okay." Dash nodded again, running back out of the alley to find a police officer. A few minutes later, two police officers ran into the alley with Dash, a pair of handcuffs in hand. As one of them spoke into their radio for back up, the other noticed Jack's bleeding.

"What did he do?" He asked, pulling medical tape out of a first-aid kit. As he wrapped it around Jack's head, Jack explained how it happened. He left out the part about him not being able to hear out of that ear, in fear of being brought to a hospital.

The police thanked the two of them, and they left before more police officers arrived. It felt really weird not to be able to hear out of one ear, but it was slowly coming back. Just very, very muffled.

"So... how's the ear?" Dash asked on their way home.

"Already getting better." Jack replied with an assuring smile. "Sorry for worrying you."

"Sorry for panicking." Dash shrugged. "You... were right. Maybe we should stop doing this. I don't want you getting hurt like that again, or worse."

"I wasn't 'right'." Jack rolled his eyes. "What hero _hasn't_ gotten hurt before? And I'm fine. The only thing I need to worry about... is my family. If they find out what happened, I won't be able to see you again. A-and it's fun to do this together. Makes me not regret spending half my summer here."

"Well, thanks." Dash smiled slightly. "You sure you want to do it again?"

"Without a doubt." Jack answered immediately. "My hearing'll probably be back by tomorrow anyway. And we're doing good things."

As they approached the neighborhood, it was already dark. They'd been out a little too long, and Jack was going to get an earful; that, he was sure of. They walked to the corner where they normally met up, and said their goodbyes.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Jack clarified.

"Yup. See you tomorrow." Dash nodded, running up the road towards home. Jack watched him go until he was out of sight before making his way back to the house, his outfit going back to normal, and putting his mask in his pocket. Today didn't go that great, so maybe tomorrow they'd take a break and actually just walk around the neighborhood or something.

When he approached the house, Katie was on the porch instead of Alex. Upon noticing him, she skipped down the stairs and glared at him. "You're home late. Julie and Alex and out looking for you!"

"Yeah, sorry." He replied, walking past her towards the door. She caught his hand.

"That's it? You keep going out, and coming back later than the last day! What's up with that? Where do you keep going?" She demanded, not loosening her grip.

"Just around the neighborhood, I told you guys this already." He lied, tugging at his arm. 

"Nuh-uh!" Katie shook her head furiously. "Alex and Julie would've found you!"

"Well, they didn't, so they weren't looking in the right places." Jack shrugged. "I don't know what else to tell you. Now, can I go inside already?"

"No." She frowned, gripping his hand tighter. "We're waiting for Alex and Julie so you can say sorry for making them worry." Jack groaned, turning his hand to gas so he could slip out of her grip, and sat down on the steps, quickly joined by Katie.

They waited there for a while. He looked up at the stars, praying his siblings wouldn't keep him from going out again tomorrow. At this rate, though, they might. Which would absolutely suck.

After about ten minutes of waiting, Julie and Alex came into view. Upon seeing Jack, they hurried over.

"Jack! Where the heck were you?" Alex demanded. Jack grumbled something below his breath. "Speak up, I can't hear you."

"I was about to say the same to you." Jack mumbled before raising his voice. "I was walking. Around the neighborhood. Simple as that."

"For nearly eight hours? I don't think so." Julie narrowed her eyes at him. "What, were you 'thinking' again? Or did you go out into the city? Or were you meeting with someone? There's no way you were only walking around the neighborhood. You didn't pass by the house even once."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Jack replied. "Just because it's been eight hours, and I wasn't around the house doesn't mean I'm lying." _Even though I am._

"Jack, quit avoiding the question." Alex glared at him. "If you don't tell us, there is no way we're letting you leave again tomorrow."

"If I tell you the truth, you're not going to let me leave anyway." Jack grumbled. "Which is stupid, because you aren't in control of what I do. And even if you do let me, I doubt you'll let me go alone, because then you'll want to meet-" He cut himself off immediately. _Shoot._

"Meet... who?" Julie inquired. "So you _have_ been meeting someone. You act like that's such a bad thing. So you made a friend; why didn't you just tell us?"

"Because..."

"What, is it a girl?" Alex asked. "Are you afraid to tell us because you like her or something?"

"Well, uh..."

"So you _do_ like her." Julie concluded. "Why hide it from us? We thought it was so much worse." She paused, waiting for an answer. "Jack?"

"-not a girl." He mumbled.

"What do you mean, 'she's not a girl?'" Alex cocked an eyebrow.

"Maybe he likes a boy." Katie pointed out. Jack hid his face in his knees when Alex burst out laughing.

"Katie, have you even _met_ Jack? There is no possible way that he's... gay..." Julie tapped him on the shoulder, pointing at Jack, who'd started crying. "Oh... oh, no, Jack, I'm sorry." He immediately crouched down and hugged him. "It's okay if you're gay, I just didn't think- I'm sorry."

"S-so..." He sniffled, not looking up. "It's _not_ weird to like guys?"

"No, of course not!" Julie gasped, joining the hug. "If you like guys, why should it matter? Love is love, and if you feel attracted to guys, it's perfectly normal." Instead of replying, Jack only started crying harder. He was relieved that it was okay to feel the way he did, but he still felt terrible keeping secrets from them. They already had to hide their powers from their parents, so he really didn't want to hide things from the three people he could actually trust the most.

Katie also joined the hug, not exactly sure how to react to her older brother crying. After all, he was her older brother.

"Can we not tell mom and dad?" Jack asked quietly after a minute or two. The three of them looked at him in confusion. "I'm sure they'd react the same why you guys did, but I'm not ready yet."

"We understand." Alex assured him, gently rubbing his back. "We won't say a word about it." After a tiny bit, he spoke up again. "So... when are we going to meet him? Because we'll wait until you're ready."

"Whenever he's comfortable, I guess." Jack shrugged, still not raising his head. "He doesn't know. I don't know if I'm going to say anything."

"Last question, but, uh... what exactly have you two been doing?" Alex asked. "I mean, have you been at his house?"

"Uhm..." Jack debated on telling him or not. He'd probably ask about the medical tape around his head, but maybe he could make up something simple. "Yes. I've been at his house each day."

"Okay." Alex nodded. "That's fine. If you ever need to talk, we're here for you."

"Thanks." He replied, leaning a bit more into the hug. Well, it seemed like the worst of it was over. Things were looking up.

"By the way..." Alex spoke up after a minute. "Why do you have medical tape wrapped around your head?"

~

"Dash, are you okay?" His mother knocked on his door. The answer was no. Dash was not okay. He was the opposite of okay. He felt like absolute garbage. After his mom had scolded him for coming home late, she realized something bad must've happened. "Dash? Are you in there?"

Dash didn't respond. He lay under the covers in an almost pitch-black room, overthinking how Jack was doing. Was he okay? Was he going to see him tomorrow? Would his brother figure out what he'd been doing? And would his hearing be permanently damaged? Dash should've done something sooner instead of freezing up.

He hoped that everything would be alright by tomorrow. But those weren't the only thoughts about Jack circling in his head. He wondered if he was okay with Dash holding his hand each day. The excuse he'd given was 'so they didn't get separated', and he only ever held his hand when they were in large crowds, but did he think it was weird? Dash could tell that that wasn't the only reason he wanted to hold his hand, but he couldn't name the other reason.

Maybe talking to his mother would help clear up these feelings, but what if she thought it was weird that he liked a boy? And if he lied, and said it was a girl, she'd want to meet 'her', and he'd be busted anyway. Dash had never heard of two guys being in a relationship like that, but he couldn't be the only one, right?

His mom knocked on his door again, calling his name. "Dash, please open the door. Did something happen?" There was a long pause. Dash hid deeper under the covers. "At least respond, honey. Come on, we can talk about it."

That sounded like the worst thing that they could do. "No." He replied, loud enough for her to hear. "'Don't want to."

There was a sigh before footsteps led away. He relaxed, returning to his thoughts. Maybe he should say something to Jack? Maybe he should tell him he likes him. That's what it was, no matter how much Dash tried to deny it.

But how would he respond? Especially if it really was weird to like another guy. Then he'd ruin a wonderful friendship. It was true that Dash didn't have any real friends. Sure, he talked to people and made jokes with them on occasion, but no one he could really talk to or invite over or spend time with. But it wouldn't matter if he didn't have friends as long as he had Jack. Because he was all he needed.

There was another knock on the door, followed by his dad's voice. "Hey, uh, Dash. You're mother wanted me to talk to you." Dash growled to himself, pulling the covers back over his head. "Can I come in?"

When Dash didn't respond, he heard the door open, and heard his dad walk over to the bed. There was a small thump as he sat down, raising the place where Dash lay a little.

"I don't know what's wrong, so I can't really say anything based off nothing. Did you and your friend get into a fight?" He asked. Dash thought about that. While they had technically gotten into a fight that day, it wasn't with each other. In fact, Jack never got angry with anything he did.

"No." Dash replied quietly.

"Does it have anything to do with your friend?" He followed up. Dash could easily lie and say no, but then his dad would think it had something to do with at home. And that would be a lie. He loved life at home.

"If I say yes, will you keep asking questions?" Dash responded.

"Well, I'll keep asking questions even if you say no." His father answered honestly. Dash sighed.

"Yes. It has to do with my friend." He admit finally. "But that doesn't mean I hafta talk 'bout it."

"I know, but if you never talk about it, it'll only get worse." His dad told him. Dash scoffed.

"What, like Violet did? I think it was just that time of month for her." His father almost started laughing, but knew better than to when there was an absolute possibility that Violet was eavesdropping, but invisible. He doubted it, but just in case.

"No, Dash, it was built up frustration. So yes, it's likely you could start acting like that if the topic goes untouched for long enough." His dad sighed. "Your mother thinks it's the same problem Violet had."

"Same problem?" Dash echoed, not liking where this was going.

"She thinks that you have a crush on your friend or something like that-"

"WELL, would you look at the time?" Dash sat up quickly, beginning to push his dad out of his room. "It's about time to go to sleep, so thanks for the talk and good night." Shutting the door the second his dad was out of his room, he stayed pressed against the door in case he tried to come back in.

His father said nothing; only hesitating before leaving. Climbing back into his bed, he flopped face first into his pillow, groaning loudly in annoyance. Rolling onto his back, he glared up at the ceiling. His mom was onto him. He should've known he couldn't keep it a secret forever.

In any case, he really needed to sleep if he wanted to be able to work through tomorrow. He would meet Jack like usual, and everything would be perfectly fine, before that encounter.

Everything would be fine.

~

Violet had heard enough. Her little brother was in love? There was no way. The only way she'd believe it was if she saw it with her own eyes. So that's exactly what she did.

When her brother left to go to his friend's house, she put on her suit and turned invisible to follow him. She knew it wasn't her place, but she felt that she needed to know.

They traveled down the sidewalk, her keeping about ten feet away. He suddenly glanced around warily, then dove into some bushes. She stood completely frozen. Had he noticed her?

When he emerged from the bushes, he had on his super suit. _What?_ She narrowed her eyes, continuing to follow him. _Has he been lying to mom and dad this whole time? What's he been doing?_

When they reached the end of the street, Dash stopped, waiting. Violet remained utterly confused. She was about to confront him when another person rounded the corner. _WHAT!?_

He was dressed in a blue and black outfit with metal boots and bands, along with a black mask adorning his freckled face. _No way... is that... Dash's lost mask?_ The pieces still didn't quite click. Something was missing.

"Hey, how's your ear?" Dash immediately ask. Violet noticed a small circular burn on the side of his head. _What the heck?_

"It's okay, I can hear perfectly normal now." The boy informed him. Dash fiddled with his thumbs for a minute, contemplating something. "Are, uh, you okay? I didn't mean to worry you so bad."

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine." Dash nodded. "Just... thinking, y'know?"

They began walking down the sidewalk, and Violet quickly followed. Where were they going? And who _was_ this boy? They started up a normal conversation with each other, like old friends. Did they not know who each other were, so they met up in hero costume? Or were they going to do something?

"One week left before I go back home." The boy sighed, looking up at the sky. "Feels kinda weird. I wasn't really looking forward to coming here, but hey, then I met you."

"You think you guys are ever going to come back?" Dash asked. "It'd suck if this was a one-time thing." After a moment of silence, Dash spoke up again. "Hey, uh, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?" The boy glanced down at him curiously. "What is it?"

"Would it be weird if... um..." Dash trailed off, contemplating once again. _Is he about to- does he- is Dash- there's no way mom and dad were right. There's no possible way._ Violet thought, but kept watching. "Nevermind."

"O...kay." The boy glanced at him before returning his attention to the sky. _Just where are they going?_ Looking ahead, Violet's eyes widened. _The city?! What are they doing going to the city?!_

She followed the two of them for hours, trying rather hard not to lose them in the crowds. She should've stopped this a while ago, but best to be patient. How were they staying together so easily? Especially when they were traveling against the movement of the crowd.

 _They're holding hands?_ Violet noticed both of them didn't look at one another when they were holding hands, their cheeks bright red. _Oh I think I see what's going on here._

"Help!" the three of their heads snapped towards the cry, seeing a man running away from the woman holding her purse. The two didn't hesitate further, and intercepted the man before he got too far, Dash tripping him, and the other boy knocked him out.

 _They're going out into the city... to fight crime together?! Oh, just wait until mom hears about this._ She narrowed her eyes, catching up to them. A nearby police officer arrested the man, and the two returned to their walk.

After a few more hours, she realized they were now heading back. _How long have they been doing this? A week? Week and a half? And they already have a fixated route. Ooh, Dash is going to be in_ so _much trouble when we get home!_

As they approached the intersection where they first met up, she considered shutting it down then and there. But she had an odd feeling something was about to happen.

"Hey, uh, Jack?" Dash piped up before the boy left. Jack turned to face him.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Um... thanks for today, and the past week, it's been really fun." He began. Jack got a worried expression on his face. "But, uh, during that time, I started to feel... different."

"You want to stop?" Jack asked. "I know I scared you when the guy tried to shoot me in the head and I didn't vaporize fast enough, but I'm okay, and that's not gonna happen again-"

"No, no, I don't want to stop!" Dash interrupted quickly. "It's been the most fun I've had in months! And it's been even better since, uh, it was with you. A-and I know that sounds kinda weird, but what I'm trying to say is... that, uh... that..."

Jack held his breath, waiting patiently for him to finish.

"See, the thing is..." Dash took a deep breath, and braced himself. "Ilikeyou."

Jack stared at him for a moment. "I like you too." Dash opened his eyes, confused. "I didn't want to say anything since, y'know, I thought it was weird too. But I was wrong, and it's normal."

"Really?" Dash clarified nervously. "You're sure?"

"I wouldn't be saying it if I wasn't sure." Jack shrugged. "I've never really felt anything towards girls my entire life. And the first time I felt something like this was with you. So yes. I'm absolutely sure." He paused. "I'm not trying to make it sound corny."

Violet's jaw dropped. _WHAT AM I WITNESSING!?_

"So, um, see you tomorrow?" Dash grinned. Jack didn't respond; he hesitated for a moment before pecking him on the cheek and sprinting in the opposite direction. Dash stood there for a hot minute, processing what had just happened. He then grinned from ear to ear, and started running for home.

After taking two seconds to change in the bushes, he ran the rest of the way home, Violet trying to keep up with him. The second they got home, Dash ran through the doors, tossing his backpack aside, and bolting into the backyard to start literally doing cartwheels around the yard, cheering at the top of his lungs.

When Violet stepped through the door, she saw her mother standing there, watching Dash with a smile. Violet, on the other hand, was not so happy. Finally turning un-invisible, she approached her mother, still in costume.

"Mom, we need to talk." She growled, furrowing her brows. Upon noticing her daughter in her hero costume, she looked completely confused.

"Why are you wearing that? What have you been doing?" She demanded, glaring down at her. "We had no clue where you'd gone!"

"The real question here is what _he's_ been doing." She pointed at Dash, who was now laying on the grass, staring up at the sky, spaced out. "Did you ever ask him what was in his backpack?"

Her mother hesitated, then picked up the discarded backpack, unzipping it. Upon seeing Dash's super suit, she dropped the bag, and slid open the glass door. "Dashiell Robert Parr!" She shouted, getting his attention.

Running up to his mother, he looked up at her curiously. "Yeah, mom?" He then noticed Violet in her super suit, crossing her arms. It suddenly dawned on him what was happening. "Oh, no." Looking back up at his mom, he started backing away. "Whatever she told you, it was lies. I did nothing."

"Get in here, now." She said harshly. He didn't argue. The siblings followed her to the couch. Just then, their father walked in. Realizing something was going on, he sat with them. "Explain what your super suit was doing in your backpack."

His father looked at him in shock, and Dash flinched. "I... must've accidentally put it in there?"

"He was going on a patrol through the city to fight crime." Violet corrected. Dash's jaw dropped, and dread immediately started to claw at his stomach.

"Why were you doing that?" Their mother inquired. "You lied to us, saying you were going to a friends house? Have you been doing this for the past week?"

"Week and a half." Dash coughed sheepishly.

"I can't believe you!" His mother suddenly snapped. "You could've gotten lost, or hurt, or killed, or- or- there are plenty of things that could've happened and we never would have known! Why did you do it?! Were you alone?"

Dash glanced at Violet with a pleading expression before speaking. "Yes."

"No." Violet immediately countered. Dash felt utterly betrayed. So this was it. Bracing himself, his entire being felt as though it was about to die. "He was with another boy. Some kid named Jack." He shot her another pleading look, but she glared at him in response. "I guess he's also got super powers, though I'm not sure what they are. And you know your theory about Dash being in love?"

"SHUT UP!!" Dash shouted, shocking her into closing her mouth. Their parents looked at him in confusion. "Shut up, okay? They get it. I lied to them. I went out into the city to fight crime. That's all that I did wrong. But you don't get to decide to tell them something I'm not ready to say!" He then glanced at his parents, tears welling up in his eyes. "But by now it's already too late."

"Dash," His father tried as he stood up and tried to leave. He caught his arm, but Dash immediately tried to pull away. "Dash, sit back down. And we'll listen. Okay?"

Dash hesitated, tears trickling down his cheeks. He then sat back down, bringing his knees up. They waited in silence for him to speak, but he didn't. Not yet.

Taking a deep breath, he began. "It wasn't supposed to happen. But it did. You remember when I lost my mask?" Helen gasped, knowing what he was about to say. "It's true that a car did come flying at me. But I didn't escape in time. Instead, a boy jumped in front of me, blocking it. I'm still not quite sure how he did it. He helped me get loose, and I realized he wasn't wearing a mask. So I gave him mine to protect him. And I guess we started talking, and it gradually led to us meeting up."

He explained about how the first time was an accident, how they started fighting crime because of how much they constantly witnessed. He told them about the man confronting them in the ally. He told them about Jack nearly dying, and how Dash felt so afraid, even though he knew everything was okay. He finished with tonight, how they'd stopped a couple purse thieves before heading home, and then the love confession. He didn't go into detail; it was embarrassing enough to think about.

After he was done, there was a long silence, neither parent knowing what to say. How are they supposed to respond to that? Dash refused to look up at them, afraid to see their faces.

"Oh, honey." Helen pulled him into a hug. "So when are we going to meet him?" Dash looked up at her, surprised. "Instead of going out into the city tomorrow, why don't you bring him here? Don't worry; we won't scold either of you. He's perfectly welcome here. But maybe I should talk to his parents..-"

"No." Dash immediately replied. "His parents don't know about his powers. Him and his siblings didn't get their powers from genetics. It's a long story. But their parents don't know, so you can't tell them."

"Oh. Okay. I'll have to hear the story." She smiled a bit. "You are grounded though. And you need to promise you'll never, ever do that again." Dash nodded, nestling into the hug. "And you, young lady," She looked up at Violet, who was still in complete shock. Violet looked over at her. "Dash was right. You had no right to tell us something he wasn't ready to say. That part had nothing to do with the danger he was putting himself in, and if we weren't understanding and accepting people, you could've put him in further danger."

"Yes, mom." Violet frowned. "Even though _he_ had no problem telling you guys I liked Tony."

"That's different, Vi." Their father spoke up. "There are people in this world who don't accept people who are... different. There are people who dislike others based on their skin color. There are people you don't like people based of their beliefs. There are people who dislike people who like that same gender as themselves. It's not fair, but it's reality."

"Well that's stupid." Violet slouched. "What's it to them? It's not _their_ life. They don't like, too bad. They can just ignore it and move on, can't they?"

"Unfortunately, they can't." Bob sighed. "But let's not talk about something so grim. We all already know that people can be stupid."

"Yeah." Helen snorted. Bob rolled his eyes. "We should all head to bed; it's heading for eight. Big day tomorrow." She smiled at Dash, who shyly smiled back.

"Okay."

~

They met up the next day, and before Jack could speak, Dash did first. "So my sister apparently followed us yesterday, and me and my family had a whole discussion about it, and now I'm grounded. ...But, they're excited to meet you, so you could come over?"

Jack blinked at him. "How did your sister follow us without you noticing?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, right. I haven't told you." Dash face palmed. "In addition to making force fields, she can also turn invisible. So... yeah."

"Wow." Jack said after a moment. "They're not going to yell at us, are they?"

"No." Dash shook his head. "Everything's fine. In any case, I was curious... what did you tell your siblings about the burn?"

"They couldn't tell it was a burn, so I said I hit my head on a door frame." Jack shrugged. "They bought it." Dash snorted. "By the way... yesterday. What exactly are we? Friends? Or...?"

"I-I don't know." Dash picked at his sleeve nervously. "I mean, if you wanted to date, I'd be okay with that. Or if you wanted to wait a couple years... I'd be okay with that too."

"Well, for now it can stay unofficial. But if we feel the same a few years later, we can make it official." Jack replied. "I mean, if you're okay with a long-distance relationship."

"That sounds good." Dash nodded, his cheeks flushed. "You, uh, wanna go?"

"Right! Yes." The pair then walked up the road together, debating on whether or not they should hold hands, or just keep walking. They made their way up the hill in silence.

The last thing Jack was expecting was the giant house that Dash guided him to, walking into the driveway. He suddenly felt very small. "You didn't tell me you were rich." He thought out loud.

"The house is actually being loaned to us." Dash corrected. "We're not rich. Mom's business partner, Winston Deavor, loaned it to us so we wouldn't be living in a motel."

"Oh." Jack couldn't think of anything else to say as they walked up to the door. He couldn't feel more out of place, his stomach churning with anxiety. "A-are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Are you nervous?" Dash chuckled, taking Jack's hand gently in his. "It'll be okay, I promise. They don't bite." Walking through the door, Jack was immediately met with a huge living room and a giant glass window overlooking the city. His jaw dropped in awe.

Dash seemed to find Jack's amazement hilarious, but he did his best not to laugh. "You live... here?" He looked back at Dash, a very skeptical look on his face. "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

"No." Dash shook his head, giggling a bit. "It's super cool, right? I've got to give you a tour. Dad says the guy who owns it bought it from a billionaire who didn't like to get noticed, so the house has a ton of hidden exits and passageways. I've made it my job to find them all. Come on!" He took Jack by the hand and ran down the steps and in the middle of the living room where he could get a better view of the rest of the house.

"Whoa... this is the fanciest house I've ever seen!" Jack said after a moment, his eyes practically sparkling. "This is incredible!" Dash grinned ear to ear at that. He'd never had a friend over, much less in this house. He didn't really have friends in general. 

"I wanna show you around. Follow me!" Dash bounced on his heels before taking Jack's hand again and leading him around to each room. He began with the kitchen, which was next to the smaller living room, which had stairs leading to the upstairs.

As he brought him around the house, Jack gradually got less nervous about the whole thing. Dash showed him the rooms in plain sight, and the little hidden compartments in the hallways and a few rooms, along with hidden doors and other cool things around the house.

When they came to the remote on the wall, Dash showed him the water features, which Jack thought was maybe the coolest thing ever. As he watched the water fall from the ceiling, a big smile crossed his face, which made Dash smile too.

The one thing Jack thought was weird was that they hadn't come across any of Dash's family members. They were home, right? So where were they? "Hey Dash, quick question. Where're your parents? And your siblings?"

"What do you mean?" Dash cocked an eyebrow, recalling everything he'd showed Jack so far. "Oh, yeah, you're right! That's kinda weird." When the two of them closed their mouths and just listened for any sounds of life, the only sound they heard was the waterfalls. "Maybe... they're outside?"

The two of them went down the stairs, heading for the glass doors in the kitchen which led to the outside. Dash unlocked it and slid it open, scanning the yard for any sign of his family. Nowhere.

"I know!" Dash exclaimed suddenly. "The basement! I haven't shown you the basement yet, have I? Well, it's not really much of a basement. It's just a lower level." The two of them then ran down the couple of steps and checked the rooms and everything for his parents, and yet there was no sign. "They were here when I left..." Nervousness was making it's way into Dash's voice.

The only other place they hadn't checked was the garage. It felt like a game of hide-and-seek. Dash led Jack down to the garage, and when they opened the doors, it was empty. Just a big, empty cement room. Well, besides a red motorcycle.

The two of them didn't say a word as they went back up to the living room, where finally, they saw Violet on the couch with a book, and Dash's parents coming through the door as if they'd gone somewhere.

"Mom, dad!" Dash exclaimed, running to them to give them a quick hug before narrowing his eyes. "Where did you guys go? We were looking all over for you!"

"Edna's." Dash's mom shrugged. "We had to get the tracker updated because Jack-Jack's getting more creative with how to avoid it. We didn't mean to be gone for very long."

Well, moment of truth. "Oh! Mom, dad," Dash ran back to Jack and pulled him over to them. "This is Jack!"

"Well, hello there, Jack! I'm Dash's mom!" Helen shook his hand, smiling. "Nice to meet you! Dash has told s quite a bit about you."

"Moooom..." Dash groaned. Jack chuckled nervously.

"Nice to meet you too." Jack nodded. "Nice, uh, house."

"I'm guessing Dash has given you the tour?" Bob inquired. "Takes a bit of getting used to, I know. Heck, it was worse after it got kinda wrecked with that... did Dash tell you about the whole-"

"-Mesmerized supers? Business partner's crazy sister? Jack-Jack's unpredictable powers? Yes." Jack nodded. "Guess you could say he's a 'jack of all trades'." He shot awkward finger guns at them, his internal anxiety yelling at him for being stupid.

Surprisingly enough, they started laughing. He wasn't one to make puns since he got so annoyed whenever his siblings made them, even if they were kind of funny. So Jack hadn't expected that kind of reaction.

Once they had regained their composure (more Helen than Bob), they smiled at him. "So then, what about you? Despite talking about you, Dash never once mentioned your powers or anything about your backstory. If you have one."

"Well. Um. I can manipulate my atoms." Jack shrugged, turning his arm to gas as an example. "Whether it be expand them or condense them. My hero name is the Mass Master!" He added proudly.

Violet scoffed, looking up from her book. "Who was the genius behind that?" Dash glared daggers at her, followed by a warning look from her mother. She returned her attention to her book.

"M-me." Jack shrugged. "I dunno, I thought it was... fitting." He almost said cool, but he figured the reason she had scoffed in the first place was because she thought it sounded childish, and saying it was cool would sound even more childish. "Can you blame me? I was eight."

"Forget her; tell them about how you got your powers!" Dash grinned, turning his attention back to Jack. Jack smiled gratefully as everyone's alarmed eyes fell to him. Helen's jaw slightly dropped. 

"Say again?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you." Jack chuckled nervously. "We in the Power Pack have an oath, and unless you meet the expectations for that, I cannot tell you." They all looked at him like he was crazy. "It was my brother's idea, not mine."

"Alright, so what are those expectations?" Bob asked excitedly. Helen and Violet looked at him like 'are you serious?'.

"Well, you must take a blood oath." Jack shrugged. The looks of horror on the Parrs' faces were hilarious. They all turned to look at Dash, of whom they realized took this oath.

"You didn't- Dash, tell me you didn't." Helen asked seriously.

"Jack..." Dash groaned, looking over at him. Jack snickered.

"Okay, so it's supposed to be a blood oath, but every time we've done it, we used spit instead." Jack explained, then spit into his hand. Dash did so as well, despite having already heard it. Bob also did so, and Violet looked at them in disgust.

"Eww..." She scrunched her nose. Helen rolled her eyes and hesitated before spitting into her hand as well. "EWWW..."

"Well?" Jack looked over at her. "If you're going to hear it, you have to do this." She still stared at the spit in disgust. "Or you can go somewhere that you can't hear it."

Violet didn't hesitate to stand up and run up to her room, shutting the door behind her. She had no interest in his story; not if it involved spit. Blood would have been better.

"Okay then." Jack held his hand out. Dash and his father added their hands on top of his, followed hesitantly by Helen. "Do you, uh..."

"Robert Parr."

"Helen Parr."

"Robert and Helen Parr," Jack echoed. "Swear to _never_ reveal the Secret Origin of Power Pack so long as you live, under threat of suffering a fate even more disgusting than the Super Sacred Secret Origin Oath itself?"

"I do." Bob said enthusiastically.

"I do..." Helen was much more skeptical.

They all took their hands away, and Helen immediately went to wash her hands. Bob followed, while Jack and Dash just wiped it off on their shorts again. When Dash's parents returned, they all sat down on the couch together to listen.

Jack began to tell them the story, happy to be able to discuss it openly. He felt a lot happier with them, not having to hide anything.

While Dash and Bob listened in excitement, the horror was expressed clearly on Helen's face as he went into detail with the Snarks. He shuddered just thinking about them, but hoped it wasn't noticed.

Going on to try and explain Friday and Aelfyre (aka Whitey) and the whole Kymellian race, he ended up giving up because he kept messing up the pronunciation of the aliens. And then onto the abduction of their parents, which really horrified Helen.

The family was silent the entire time he was speaking, listening intently to every word. The moment Jack finished the story, he finally noticed the look of utter terror on Helen's face, and suddenly felt self-conscious.

He was startled when she pulled him into a tight hug. "How did you experience something so... bizarre?! How long have you had to keep it to yourself, unable to tell anyone about it- you must be traumatized!"

It was true that for a long time, Jack had reoccurring nightmares about the encounter, and sometimes still did, but he didn't want to bring that up and worry her further. "Pssht, I'm not _traumatized_!" He dismissed. "That's ridiculous! Preposterous! Ludicrous!"

"Where did that vocabulary come from then?" Helen cocked an eyebrow. Jack cursed himself mentally for that. He'd developed a habit of it due to Alex and his father doing it all the time.

"I'm fine, it's okay, it was two whole years ago! I put all that past me anyway, it hardly occurs to me nowadays!" That was kind of a lie. But Jack really didn't want them to worry over him like his siblings.

"Helen, relax. If he says he's alright, then he's alright." Bob assured her before turning back to Jack. "What kind of powers do your siblings have?"

"Well-"

"You can't act like this is normal, Bob! He's only- how old are you?"

"Ten."

"Ten! Making him eight years old when he experienced this!" Helen exclaimed. "And then he had to hide it from his own parents when he probably needed them the most in his life! I really think we need to talk with his siblings, at least."

"No!" Jack blurted out, shutting his mouth immediately after. They all looked back at him. Dash put a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Sorry about this." He apologized, then narrowed his eyes at his parents. "This is _not_ how this visit was supposed to go. Not at all."

"You can't tell them about this; at least, not entirely." Jack continued. "They already figured out I was lying about going on walks around the neighborhood, so I told them half the truth about meeting Dash, but I didn't say anything about the superhero stuff. If they knew, they'd kill me! Alex had made it absolutely clear that there would be no 'heroics' on this vacation, as it was supposed to be normal.

"But then I got sick and nearly passed out in the road, which is why Dash had to save me, and then later that same day, I got lost and happened to wander further into the city where I returned the favor and saved Dash, and then 'normal' went completely down the drain." Jack finished with a frustrated groan. "I don't regret any of it, but I can't just tell them!"

Helen and Bob exchanged a look. This kid their son brought home had some serious secrecy issues, and everything seemed life or death with him. "Alright, we won't mention any of the superhero drama, but we'd still like to talk to them. I'm sure they'd feel better knowing for certain where you are." Helen said finally.

Jack let out a relieved sigh. It was hard, weaving around all these lies. He'd come to hate keeping secrets, and yet, still have them. He hated secrecy, but it was his only solution to many of his problems. He never told his siblings about the nightmares. He never told them about school issues. He never told them about his constant, intense anxiety. And now this. Where would it end?

"Jack?" Jack snapped from his thoughts, looking slightly down at Dash, who was staring at him with curious, concerned blue eyes. "Are... you okay? You spaced out a little."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." He nodded. "I tend to get lost in my thoughts sometimes." Which was almost never true, but seemed to be nowadays. 

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly, most of it spent in Dash's room, just talking about random things. They related on many topics of conversation, learning more about the other each second.

It was around five o'clock when Helen opened the door, saying it was about time for Jack to go back home. The two of them groaned, but got off the bed and headed down the stairs.

"Well, uh, see you tomorrow?" Dash smiled nervously.

"Yeah, that sounds good. See you tomorrow." Jack paused, glancing over at Helen, who was watching the two of them say goodbye. He wanted to kiss Dash goodbye, but felt that it would be weird to do in front of his mother. "Right. Um. I'll just go now."

He and Dash awkwardly shook hands before Jack slipped out the door, walking down the road to go back to the house. Why were their goodbyes always so painfully awkward?

Love was a complicated thing, and this was only the beginning. So what would it be like further down the road? Would it be worth it? Especially with the long distance. He remembered how anywhere he read it or heard it, long-distance relationships never worked out. But maybe they did, sometimes. Jack would make sure this one did.

There was just something special about Dash. And it wasn't just his powers, but him as a person. His smile was the prettiest thing Jack had ever seen in his entire life. He may be ten years old, but he was positive this was what he wanted in life. Dash.

Perhaps he _should_ tell his parents. If they weren't going to mention the hero stuff anyway, it might be better that way. But then he'd have to explain the whole lie to his parents, which might be worse than just not telling them at all.

Jack wasn't used to thinking all that hard about many things, so perhaps he was just overthinking. Ultimately, he decided not to say anything. But then he'd be hiding things from them.

 _Well, technically, that's not true. They never asked, so you never have to say it, right?_ It was true. His parents never questioned where he was going, which was odd, considering their mother was a real worrywart.

It dawned on him that his siblings might've told their parents that they knew where he was as to not worry them. It made sense, since that was the type of thing they always did. Though it was unusual for Katie to not have sold him out yet.

Walking through the door, humming happily to himself, he flopped onto the air mattress where Alex sat. Alex looked over at him, and smirked. Jack wasn't sure he liked that look on his face.

" _Someone's_ happy." He teased. Jack's face flushed red and he glared at him. Julie and Katie snickered.

"Sh-shut up." Jack frowned, then looked up at the ceiling. "By the way, they want to meet you guys."

"Huh?"

"My friend's family." Jack explained, looking back over at them. "I kinda mentioned you guys, and they want to meet you. They're pretty cool, and I think you'll get along pretty well. His older sister's kind of a stick in the mud though."

"Us?" Katie echoed, a smile growing on her face. "They want to meet us?" 

"Yyyep."

"Why?" Julie piped up. "I mean, you only mentioned us like, what, once, probably? That's a little odd."

"Why's that odd?" Jack asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. "Can I say or do anything without you being like, 'oh, something's definitely wrong here!'? What is up with that? Don't you trust me?"

Julie actually hesitated. All of them did. Jack's eyes dilated slightly in shock. "O-of course we trust you!" Alex broke the short silence. "It's just that, y'know, I don't get why this family would be interested in meeting us."

"Well, why not, huh?" Jack narrowed his eyes a bit. "You suspect I said or did something wrong."

"No, we just-"

"It's fine." Jack cut her off. "It's fine. You can think whatever you want." _What a save, Jack. Good job._

There was an awkward pause. "So did you?"

Now it was Jack's turn to hesitate. That hesitation turned to a pause. And the pause turned to a longer silence. He didn't want to lie to them even more than he already had, but they were going to scold him for telling strangers, and then he'd have to explain that they were supers too, and then they would want to know how he found that out, which would lead to more lies if he didn't want to get caught.

"What?" He asked instead, as though he hadn't heard. _WHY are you such an IDIOT?_

"I said- know what, never mind." Julie sighed. "It's not important. We will happily accompany you to meet them. And I look forward to meeting your 'friend'." She nudged him playfully in the ribs and he groaned in annoyance.

"Say, how old is he?" Alex asked.

"Twelve." Jack shrugged, then grinned. "But he's shorter than me."

Julie rolled her eyes. "Of course that makes you happy."

"Like... five inches, I think." Jack estimated. "He has blonde hair, and freckles. His eyes are like the ocean on a sunny day, and he's got the prettiest smile..." He paused, his face immediately going red as his siblings snickered. "H-hey, don't you make fun of me! I'm simply stating what I see!" He crossed his arms.

"Gosh, Jack, I didn't realize you were such a romantic!" Julie teased. "Aww, my little brother's growing up!"

"Don't patronize me! Just- forget I even said that!" Jack huffed.

"By the way, Jack," Katie spoke up. "What are you going to do when we go back home?" Jack thought for a second.

"Well, I should probably ask for their number, and write it down somewhere." He shrugged. "That way, I can call him each day."

Alex hesitated before speaking. "You know long distance relationships don't ever really-"

"I know!" Jack cut him off quickly. "But they _do_ last, with commitment."

"And you're willing to put forth that commitment?" Julie raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Jack answered immediately, looking her directly in the eyes. "Without any hesitation."

"Whoa." Alex blinked at him. "That might be the most serious I've ever seen you before. Well then, alright. I believe you." Jack relaxed, and lay back down. "You know what I don't believe?"

"Oh, no."

"Your whole story with how you got hurt." Alex said, cocking an eyebrow. "That's a burn. I could clearly tell that, so why did you lie? And how did you actually get it?"

"I..." Jack trailed off, trying to think up a believable excuse. "...don't... know? I-I don't know."

"What do you mean, you 'don't know'?" Alex countered. "Pretty sure that if you were burned by something, you'd remember."

"Laser eyes!" He thought aloud, thinking of Jack Jack. He glanced over at Alex who was giving him one of those 'excuse me, what?' looks. "I said that out loud. No, no, that, um... that, uh.... just randomly came to mind, I don't know why."

"Why was that the first thing that came to mind?"

"Well, it uh... because..." Jack thought for a long time. "Um. That I don't know either."

"It's probably nothing important, Alex." Julie sighed. "If he doesn't know, he doesn't know. Just calm down." Alex rolled his eyes, but didn't speak on the matter further. 

Jack sighed, laying flat on his back. "You'll see for yourself. They're awesome."

~

"HOLY CRAP!!" Katie exclaimed when they turned into the Parr's driveway. "He lives _here_?" 

"Katie, don't say that." Julie scolded her, then turned to Jack nervously. "Are you sure this is the right house?"

"Takes a little getting used to." Jack smirked at her. "Believe me, I know." They walked up to the door, and Jack rang the doorbell. They waited there for a little bit before the door burst open.

Something tackled Jack in a crushing bear hug as they rolled across the driveway. "Hey!" Dash grinned, looking down at him. Jack grinned back, a little dizzy from that unexpected greeting.

"Yeah, hey!" Jack greeted as Dash got off him. Helping him to his feet, Dash froze hearing the giggling and snickering of Jack's siblings. His ears burned red in embarrassment.

"I forgot you were bringing your siblings..." He chuckled nervously. "H-hi!" He awkwardly waved at them. They waved back, with the exception of Katie, who was still laughing her head off.

"Well, hello there." Helen greeted them, then glared at Dash. "Dash! What did I say about first impressions?"

"Whaaaaaat? I missed him." He mumbled. She sighed, then turned back to the siblings.

"Well, no reason you should just stand out here. Come in, come in." She opened the door wider, letting them inside. Jack and Dash quickly joined them. Violet was, like always, sitting on the couch with her nose in a book.

Bob came into the room holding Jack-Jack. Upon seeing them, he waved, before sitting on the couch next to Violet. Helen guided the five of them down the steps and into the living room.

"Jack didn't tell us much about you, so we don't even know your names." Helen chuckled.

"O-oh, uh, I'm Alex." Alex introduced, still overwhelmed by their new surroundings. "Jack didn't mention that you lived in such a... big house."

"I'm Julie, and she's Katie." Julie smiled. "Thank you for having us."

"Really, it's no problem. Make yourselves at home, I'll go get you guys something to drink." Helen shooed them to the couch, and happily made her way to the kitchen.

The siblings awkwardly sat down, feeling extremely out of place. Alex sat straight, with good posture. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt something crawl onto him.

Looking down at the baby that found it's way onto his lap, he glanced over at Bob, who snickered at the sight. "Seems he already likes you. That's Jack-Jack."

"Oh, um, that's.... flattering?" He picked up Jack-Jack gently in his arms. "Kinda reminds me of when Jack and Katie were newly born."

"Uh, no duh, Alex." Jack rolled his eyes. "It's a baby. What'd you expect?"

"Well, yeah, I know, I just-" Jack-Jack started to float out of his hands, and Alex squeaked in surprise. "Ack!" He tried to bring it back down, and was terrified it wasn't working. Bob glanced up from the paper, then looked back over at Alex in surprise as the baby was surrounded with a black outline and brought back down.

Alex looked over at him with panic in his eyes. Both Julie and Katie glared at him.

"Wh-what!? I didn't do it!" Alex protested.

"Yeah, no, he just does that." Violet shrugged, looking up from her book. "It would be helpful to have someone with... gravity control? Is that what that was? Because sometimes Jack-Jack doesn't want to come back down."

"I didn't- he didn't- it was just- what?" He looked to Jack for an explanation.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that to happen so soon. I planned on easing you into it, but yeah. They're supers too." Jack shrugged nervously, knowing immediately what Alex was about to do.

"Jack Power..." Alex spoke his name in a warning tone. "There is no way you just 'met them by chance'. What did I say about this before we even got here! What part of 'no heroics' don't you understand!?"

"Hey, hey, relax!" Jack held up his hands in surrender. "It's not like it's a bad thing. And I didn't do anything! C-coincidences just happen, y'know?" Alex was clearly not buying it.

"Does one of them have laser eyes too?" Julie pieced together.

"Yes. The baby." Jack indicated the toddler giggling on the couch. Jack-Jack suddenly sneezed and caught on fire. Katie shrieked, and both Julie and Alex's jaws dropped. "He does that too."

His fire went out after a second or two, and he returned to his giggling. "What- what are his powers?!" Katie exclaimed.

"We don't really know yet." Violet shrugged, bookmarking her page and putting the book down. "Totally random, but floating, fire, laser eyes, and turning into a little pink demon seem to be his favorites."

"He can do _what_?" Julie squinted at her like she was insane.

"Yep. We reacted the same way when we first saw it." Violet sighed. "Anyway, while your brother and my brother meeting was purely coincidental, you were there. So you should remember."

"Huh?" Katie tilted her head.

"Oh... you guys are the Incredibles we've heard so much about!" Julie pieced together. "Which makes..." She turned to Dash. "...you the one who saved Jack from that car!"

"Yep! That's me!" Dash grinned proudly. "Guess we had a pretty heroic meeting, eh?"

"I suppose so." Jack chuckled, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. Alex looked one word away from snapping. "But, uh, the rest of our meetings had nothing to do with that."

"So then _was_ the burn from laser eyes?" Alex inquired. Jack flinched. All of their heads snapped up to look at Jack, who had a sudden flashback to the sound of the gunshot. He flinched again, shutting his eyes tightly in an attempt to shut it out.

"Yes! It was a misfire, but it won't happen again." Dash answered immediately after seeing Jack's uncomfort. "And he's perfectly safe now. Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Jack had a temporary ringing in his ear from the memory, which cleared out a couple seconds later. "Oh, uh, yes. It's nothing."

"Riiiight." Alex furrowed his brows. "Something isn't sitting right here." He paused, then glared at Jack threateningly. "Did you tell them our origin story?"

"In my defense, they took the oath." Jack replied immediately. "Except her and the baby." He indicated Violet. "But she didn't get to hear it because she was disgusted by the terms of the oath."

"Like she should be." Julie shuddered. "I still don't think that should be a thing."

"But then what's the point?" Alex pointed out. "We need to have something that they'll swear by. If they won't meet the conditions, then they won't be informed. That's just how it is."

"Right, and speaking of which..." Helen began, coming back in with a tray of glasses of water, one for each person. She set it down on the table and looked seriously at Alex. "We wanted to talk about that."

"Uh-oh." Jack groaned, slouching next to Dash, who's eyes narrowed slightly. Katie glanced nervously between Helen and Alex. Julie sat at Alex's side.

"I know, it's crazy, but-" He cut himself off, looking at Violet. Violet rolled her eyes, picking up Jack-Jack, and went up to her room. When the door was closed, he continued. "But there's really nothing you need to concern yourself over."

"You are all under the age of sixteen, yes?" Helen asked. They all nodded. "Not even old enough to drive, and you went through something that would traumatize anyone. Worse, you couldn't speak to you parents about it. Or any adult, for that matter."

"Well, yes, but-"

"So how am I expected to believe you're all perfectly fine?" She continued. "Being a hero means experiencing terrible, horrible things. And you four are no exception. But because of how young your minds are, that whole experience could effect your mind in the future. Now, I'm not a psychologist, but I am a mother. So if there are any worries or fears or concerns any of you have during your lives as heroes, my door is always open."

The four of them remained silent. Until a sniffle broke the silence. They all looked to Katie, who had tears rolling down her cheeks. Julie immediately hugged her.

"It's scary..." She began, wiping her nose. "And mom and dad would never believe us. And for a couple weeks after that, I had scary dreams."

"I think we all did." Alex told her. "Why do you think I suggested we sleep in the same room? That way, it would feel safer and more secure. But _some_ of you insisted it was pointless." He glanced at Jack. "And since us three slept in a room and could share experiences like we did, and he didn't, I'll admit, I was concerned for him for a long time."

Jack scoffed, shifting a little closer to Dash.

"I have too." Julie admit after a moment. "I had asked dad about the human mind since he's a scientist, and while he didn't know everything, he knew quite a bit. And what I heard that had to do with, well, PTSD... it wasn't good. Especially keeping it to yourself." Jack moved even closer to Dash. There was no way he was going to say a word about those nightmares to them here. Or anywhere. Ever.

Bob hesitated before speaking. "Y'know, this seems a little intense for only your second time he-" He paused. "Um. Second time, uh, meeting, um, like this. Yeah." Alex glanced at him, but said nothing. "Maybe we could talk about something a little more practical?"

"Bob," Helen sighed, looking over at him. "I'm aware this is none of our business, but they need a trusted adult to confide in." She paused, then looked back over at them. "But we don't need to talk about this if you don't want to."

"No, no, it's okay." Alex replied, glaring back over at Jack. "And _he_ clearly has something to hide."

"I'm not hiding anything!" Jack protested. "Why has this suddenly turned into a therapy session?" He began to stand. "I think maybe we should go back home." Dash stood up with him.

"Or, uh, we'll go take a walk, get some fresh air, and come back." Dash offered. Jack relaxed. Helen narrowed her eyes skeptically.

"Don't leave the neighborhood. Got it?" She said. The two nodded, then left. Jack felt Alex scrutinizing him as they headed outside. Jack didn't look at Dash as they started down the hill.

They didn't say a single word the entire walk.

~

The week had come and gone, and Jack had forgotten to visit Dash the rest of the time. He was too miserable to even talk, really. And finally, the day they were leaving arrived.

The car was packed up and ready to go. But saying goodbye was taking a long time. Jack sat on the porch, waiting to leave. He couldn't wait to go back home. His father came out to sit next to him.

"Well, I guess it was as boring as you'd anticipated, huh?" He sighed. Jack pulled his knees up to his chest.

"...Not entirely." He mumbled. "Wish I could tell you."

"Huh? I didn't catch that."

"Nothing." 

"Oh. Okay."

After a brief and awkward silence, Jack's mother and siblings came out, saying goodbye one last time. "Alright, are you guys ready to go? You didn't forget anything?" All of them shook their heads, and piled into the car.

"Hey, Jack." Alex spoke up as the car started moving. "Did you remember to say goodbye to Dash?"

Jack's head snapped up. "Wait, mom! Let me out!" He exclaimed immediately. His mother glanced at him in confusion. Jack didn't even wait for the car to stop before he leapt out the car and started sprinting up the sidewalk.

He passed their cousins' house and continued running for the intersection as fast as his legs could carry him. Sharply turning the corner, he ran up the hill and headed for the driveway the moment it was visible.

Turning into the driveway, he ran up to the door and range the doorbell. Catching his breath, he waited for someone to answer the door. A couple seconds later, Dash opened the door and smiled.

"Hey! I thought you'd already left without saying goodbye." He greeted, a little sadly.

Jack smiled nervously. "No, of course not! We are leaving, though. Today. Now, actually." He explained. "I don't have long, but I haven't gotten your number yet."

"Oh! Hold on." Dash disappeared from the door for a few seconds, then reappeared holding out a piece of paper with a number on it. "There you go." He paused after Jack tucked the number safely in his pocket. "So... this is goodbye for now."

"For now." Jack nodded. "But we'll see each other again, don't worry." He nervously picked at his sleeve. "So, um..." He smiled and kissed Dash on the forehead before turning and running away. "I'll call you when we get home!"

Dash stood by the door until he was out of sight, and then sighed. He walked into the kitchen and sat at the counter, ready to receive that phone call hours later.

It wasn't clear to Dash if he and Jack were really meant to meet. But he was certainly glad that they did.

~

_Brrriiiiiiiiiiiiiing! Brrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiing! Brrriiiiiiiiiiiii-_

_Click_

"Hey."

**Author's Note:**

> By the way, thought I'd ruin you childhood, but did you know that Jack-Jack's full name is John Jackson Parr? I had to rant to my family about it, because to me, he'll always be Jack-Jack, and he doesn't look anything like a John.
> 
> And, if anyone was curious, I could add some chapters about other scenarios with them meeting up again, and how they're fairing with their long-distance relationship. I'll probably end up doing it anyway, mostly for myself, but if anyone else was curious... that'd be cool... *awkward shrug*
> 
> I have ton of ideas for their whole relationship throughout their lives, so that's a thing that will happen. This chapter took about two whole months to complete. I really hope it was worth it. And even if it wasn't to others, it was to me. And that's all that matters. Not all of the ideas have everything to do with their relationship.


End file.
